


Fighting the Restraints

by dolliewithasmile



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Asylum, Drama, Hurt, M/M, Mental Illness, Mental Institution, Psych Ward, Romance, Slow Burn, Violence, implied rape, implied trauma, mental disability, mental health
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-10-27 16:32:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10812735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dolliewithasmile/pseuds/dolliewithasmile
Summary: I was inspired by the episode of GMM: "Can You Escape A Straightjacket?".Link is brought to Wullhurst Lunatic Asylum against his will and signed into the care of Doctor Petrov, when all hope seems lost he hears something coming from the crack in the floor of his room.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind: I'm not a professional when it comes to mental health, all I can do is write using my own experiences and experiences of close friends as reference to the best of my ability, it won't be perfect.

"No! Please!" Link screamed, fighting against the two large built men dragging him through the white painted halls of the East Wing of the asylum. His heart raced as adrenaline coursed through his body, his shoulder aching as he fought the crushing force of the man on his left side. "I'm not insane!" _Germs. Everywhere. They're all unclean. You're unclean. They're crawling all over you like spiders and cockroaches. You can feel them, feel them eat away at your skin, consuming you._ "Please!" He screamed until his lungs were sore, all he could see where the germs surrounding him, the greasy unwashed hands that held him, the scuffed floor that stunk of bile and industrial cleaner. Link's stomach twisted and he gagged violently, the pungent aroma invading his nostrils, causing his mind to spin. "Please.." The man on Link's right side let him go and gathered his keyring, sliding one of the many keys into the lock of room '61', he turned the knob and pushed the door open. "Home sweet home."  
The room was void of any furniture aside from a toilet, a twin mattress laying on the floor stained and devoid of any sheets, the windows barred. The two men gathered his arms once more and dragged him inside, dropping him onto the mattress before leaving the room and locking the door behind them. When the door shut and locked, Link hurried over to the toilet as sickness overcame him, the state of the toilet only worsening his nausea. He doubled over, clutching at his stomach in pain, emptying the contents of his stomach. Link collapsed onto the floor, backing against the nearest corner of the room, hyperventilating as he took in the horror of the room, "No..god no.." He closed his eyes tightly, his head swimming.  
_Skin cells from the previous patients, their bacteria and odors are everywhere, there is no escape. You're breathing them in. You're breathing in their bile and waste. You're contaminated._  
Link's skin crawled, he could feel thousands of pins and needles stabbing underneath his skin, all he could think of was washing his body, cleansing himself of his grimy surroundings. He sat with his knees pressed to his chest, rocking back and forth in an attempt to soothe himself, but nothing could stop the thoughts, the fear.  
There was a soft knock on Link's door and he lifted his head, seeing an older man through the glass window in the door. The man unlocked the door and stepped in, holding a clip board, "Mr. Neal?" His eyes gleamed, in them Link saw something, something not quite right. "I'm Doctor Petrov. Would you come with me?" Link slowly stood, fidgeting with his sweater as he followed Dr. Petrov into the hallway, the doctor unlocked his office door and stepped inside, taking a seat behind his desk.  
"Please, sit anywhere you would like." Link surveyed the available seats, one looked to be made with the fabric of a carpet, a thin white coating of dust covering it, and the other a leather seat, smooth, well cleaned. He sat down on the leather chair and looked at his feet, chewing on his lip. "Now, Mr. Neal, let's begin. Do you know why you're here?"  
"My family locked me in here." Link's tone was sour.  
"And do you know why?"  
"Because I'm a neat freak.."  
Doctor Petrov chuckled, "More than that, Mr. Neal, you have what we call an 'Obsessive Mind'. Now, can you tell me when you first noticed these obsessive thoughts and the accompanying hallucinations?" He chewed on his pen, a line of drool dripping down the pen.  
Link stared at the pen, his nostrils flaring in disgust, his legs began to bounce up and down, sweat forming on his brow, "Uh..I uh.." He cleared his throat, "I guess I was about fourteen.."  
"Ah, I see." Dr. Petrov took the pen from his mouth, a string of saliva connecting his mouth to the pen, Link looked away with a shudder. "Was there a trauma in your childhood?" Link's throat went dry, "No."  
"No? Interesting." He scribbled more on his clipboard.  
"When can I go home?"  
"That depends upon you, Mr. Neal. If you are cooperative with treatment and there is a significant improvement, then you will be released."  
"And if not..?"  
"Let's not think about that right now. Ah, look at the time, lunch! The cafeteria is at the end of the hall, I will speak with you again tomorrow."  
Link stood and walked into the hallway, tugging nervously at the sleeves of his sweater as he made his way toward the cafeteria, the halls filling with patients. He winced and shied away from them, his mind swarming with thoughts once more, his lungs tightening as he struggled to breathe.  
When they got into the cafeteria Link took a deep breath now that he wasn't surrounded by people, he took a look around and noticed the faces of the patients, all were sunken, vacant of any color of life in their skin, their eyes hollow. He gulped softly and walked over to the utensil area, stuffing his pockets full of napkins and grabbing a plastic fork and knife, repeatedly scrubbing them with napkins before he was satisfied.  
Link stood in line, grabbing a food tray and repeating his cleaning process with more napkins, holding the tray with a napkin so it wouldn't touch his skin. As he approached the containers of food his stomach twisted, nearly all the containers seemed to have the same grey slop in them, the only foods he could recognize were peas and a basket of apples off to the side. "What'll it be?" A grouchy lady in a hair net spoke behind the containers.  
"Um..some peas and..and an apple..please?" Link spoke timidly, holding out his food tray with shaky hands. The lady grabbed a large spoon and dumped a mound of peas onto his tray and grabbed an apple and placed it beside the peas. He gulped and made his way over to an empty table, wiping down the seat before he sat down. Link sighed and grabbed his plastic spoon and shoved it into the pile of peas, slowly guiding it to his mouth.  
_She probably spit in your food. She doesn't like you. She wants to infect you. She spit in your food._  
Link gagged and dropped the spoon onto the tray, shoving it aside. He grabbed a napkin from his pocket and scrubbed at the apple, eyeing it up and down for five minutes, polishing it here and there until he was satisfied it was clean. He bit into the apple and felt his body relax a bit, at least he could get the apples down.  
"You ain't gonna survive on apples alone here, ya know."  
Link's body froze and he lifted his head to find the source of the voice, a woman stood across from the table with a gentle smile and tired eyes. "It looks like I'll have to.." He looked down at his apple, his eyes widening at the sight of a brown worm wriggling itself into his apple.  
The woman noticed the panic in his eyes and looked to his apple, "What?"  
"The..the worm.." Link stared at it, unsure of whether or not it was there. His stomach twisted.  
_You ate a worm. It's inside of your stomach, swimming, living, consuming._  
The woman sat down and offered a soft smile, "There's nothing there, just an apple."  
Link looked to her, swallowing the bile rising up in his throat, "Are you sure..?"  
"Mhm. Cross my heart." She pressed her finger to her chest and made an "X".  
Link took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating, there is no worm, it's just an apple. He opened his eyes slowly and released the air in his lungs in relief and devoured the apple before another hallucination could plague his mind.  
"I'm Keegan."  
Link lifted his head and wiped at his mouth with a napkin and forced a smile, "Uh hi..I'm Link."  
"I heard about you, word is you caused quite a stir when you got here."  
His face turned bright red, "My family called them, they came and took me away. They won't believe me! I'm not crazy!"  
"None of us are, except for Jamie anyways." Keegan said with a small laugh.  
"Who's Jamie?"  
"A girl in the East Wing with us, doubt you'll see her much though, they keep her in isolation most of the time."  
"What for?" Link's eyes widened.  
"She can get really violent. It won't be long..they'll take her to the North Wing." Keegan whispered.  
"What's in the North Wing?"  
"It's where we all go in the end."  
"What? What do you mean?"  
"There is no getting out of here Link.."  
"But Doctor Petrov told me if I cooperated with treatments I'd be out of here soon."  
Keegan's expression immediately changed, her eyebrows furrowing and her smile disappearing, "Our families leave us here to rot, and that monster toys with us, we're just guinea pigs for his experiments, the worst one is in the North Wing. There's no coming back after that."  
Link sat back, his eyes wide in disbelief, "No...no no no." He shook his head and began to breathe hard, "I don't belong here!" He screamed, causing everyone in the room to look at him.  
"Neal. Settle down." One of the guards barked.  
"I can't go there! I need to get out of here! I'm not crazy!" He stood, hyperventilating.  
"Neal, Imma give you one more chance to calm down."  
When Link screamed in response a nurse and two guards hurried over to him, the guards held his arms still while the nurse grabbed his pants and moved them down a little, jabbing him with a needle. Link yelped in pain at the impact of the needle, and the world became fuzzy, his eyelids relaxed and soon all he saw was blackness.  
_Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip._  
Link groaned, the sound of a leaking pipe waking him, he groaned as his vision slowly began to return, his head throbbing and spinning. He slowly sat up from the cold concrete floor and held his head in his hand, massaging at his right temple.  
_Psst._ His eyes widened. _Psst!_  "Huh..?" Link looked around the room for the source of the noise. _PSST!_  Link looked down at the floor, there in the center of the floor was a small crack with a hole at it's center. He leaned down to the crack in the floor and closed one eye, peering through into the room below, "Hello?" He asked. He saw something white through the hole and leaned back, watching as a small rolled up piece of paper was pushed through it.  
Link slowly took the piece of paper in his hand and unrolled it,  
_'Hi. I'm Rhett. What's your name?'_  
Link heard a small rustling noise and looked to the crack in the floor, a pen was being pushed up through the hole. He took the pen and pressed the note to the floor, scribbling: _'I'm Link. Hi.'_  
He rolled the pen in the piece of paper and slid it into the hole, watching as it disappeared. Once more the pen and paper were returned:  
_'I saw you in cafeteria. Nice to meet you.'_  
Link wrote back to him, ' _Nice to meet you too.'_  
Rhett returned the paper once more,  
_'What you in for?'_  
_'Obsessive mind. You?'_  
_'Manic depression. Been waiting for someone to move in upstairs.'_  
Link smiled to himself as he read the note, he quickly wrote back, _'How long you been here?'_  
_'A few months.'_  
_'I'm sorry.'_  
_'It's ok. You gonna go to dinner tonight?'_  
_'I guess so.'_  
_'I'll see you there. I'll be at Keegan's table.'_


	2. Chapter Two

The guards signaled it was time for dinner and Link felt his stomach twist in disgust. He groaned and lifted himself from the floor, nervously rubbing his hands together as he made his way down the hall and into the cafeteria.  
"Link!"  
Link followed the sound of the voice and followed the familiar voice, he noticed Keegan sitting at a table with two people he didn't recognize, he waved awkwardly and walked over to them.  
"Hey Link." Keegan smiled brightly and patted the seat next to her. "Come sit, there's two people I want you to meet."  
Link's stomach did a flip, he wiped at the seat for a moment with one of the napkins from his pocket and sat down, blushing as his eyes met those of the extremely tall man sitting across from him.  
"This is Rhett, he told me you two sorta met already." Keegan chuckled.  
Rhett smiled, "Hi Link." He held out his hand for Link.  
Link stared at Rhett's hand, his heart racing as he studied each fold and wrinkle, thinking of all the nasty things that could be hiding there, "Oh uh..I don't shake hands, I'm sorry."  
"Gosh I'm so sorry!" Rhett quickly pulled his hand away, he turned to the short woman sitting next to him with short pink hair, "Oh, I forgot, this is Jamie."  
Link looked to Jamie with wide eyes, his pulse throbbing hard under his skin, "Uh..I thought-"  
"I'm out on good behavior." Jaime slowly lifted her attention from her food, "So what's your damage?"  
"Obsessive mind apparently.."  
Jaime quirked an eyebrow.  
Link cleared his throat and clarified, "I'm a little afraid of germs. And um..a-and you?"  
Jaime bristled, looking down at her food, chewing on her lip.  
Rhett shook his head in warning at Link and mouthed, 'Don't ask'.  
"Oh, sorry." Link's stomach let out a loud growl and he grimaced with embarrassment, "I'd better go get something to eat, I guess."  
"I'll come with you." Rhett offered a smile.  
Link walked to the dinner line with Rhett beside him, he grabbed a tray with a napkin and repeated his cleaning ritual.  
"So what made you so afraid of germs?" Rhett grabbed a tray and held it out for the grouchy lady from before who spooned on various meats and vegetables, quickly filling his tray.  
Link timidly held out his tray, motioning for the lady to place rice, peas and two apples on his tray. He looked to Rhett for a moment, "It's a long story."  
Rhett and Link walked back to the table after gathering their utensils and sat down in their seats. Link set to work on cleaning his utensils like always, the rest of the group watching him with fascination.  
"Not much of a meat eater, eh?" Jaime asked, taking a bite of some odd looking soup.  
Link's eyes widened, "There was meat over there?! Everything looks like the same pile of grey goop to me." He shuddered and moved around his peas with his spoon, eyeing them nervously.  
_The lunch lady dropped them on the floor. They're covered in grime and hair from her greasy itchy scalp._  
He bit his lip and dropped the spoon onto the tray, abandoning the peas, and grabbed his fork and slowly brought some of the rice to his mouth. The rice was incredibly dry and bland, but he found himself enjoying it regardless, it beat eating peas off the floor any day.  
Link grabbed one of his apples and stuffed it into his pocket for later and started to scrub the other one, his skin prickly and itchy under his clothes. He tried to focus on getting his apple clean but all he could think off was all of the germs he had come into contact today, never being able to clean his hands or shower.  
_You're filthy. You stink. You're covered in bacteria. They can smell it on you. Oily, dirty, disgusting._  
Link did his best to push through it, he needed to put on more weight, his weight had slowly been deteriorating as he became more and more obsessed over the cleanliness of his food over the years, verging on dangerous. He forced himself to bite into the apple, quickly chewing and swallowing before his mind could taunt him again; he recited poetry, sang songs, thought about the weather, anything to distract him as he force fed himself.  
"Are you ok, Link?" Rhett whispered, his eyes soft and understanding.  
Link was torn from his distraction ritual and he nodded quickly, swallowing the last bite of his apple. "So um..when do we get to shower?"  
"After dinner."  
Rhett saw the look of relief on Link's face and his heart went out to him, he couldn't imagine being afraid of everything he came into contact with. "I'll show you where it is if you want."  
Link nodded and stood, "It was nice meeting you Jaime." He waved with a lopsided grin.  
Jaime forced a smile, her arms wrapped around herself, rubbing her shoulders, "See you."  
Rhett stood, "See you girls tomorrow." He smiled to Keegan and Jaime as he walked around the table to join Link.  
The two walked down the hallway until they came to a sign that said: 'Hydrotherapy Room' with an arrow pointing to the right.  
"What's hydrotherapy?"  
Rhett shuddered, "Hopefully you'll never find out." He guided him through the twisting halls until they came to a door marked 'Hydrotherapy', he turned the knob and pushed, revealing a room filled with showers and bathtubs covered with canvas. "Here we are."  
Link sighed with relief, "Thank god." He pulled off his jumper and folded it neatly on the edge of one of the bathtubs.  
"I don't think I've ever seen someone so happy to get a shower."  
"Kinda comes with the territory of being a germaphobe." Link shook his head with a soft sigh and slid off his pants, leaving on his slippers. Rhett began taking off his clothes and Link blushed, he had figured Rhett would leave him to shower alone, he hadn't intended on being nude in front of a complete stranger.  
Rhett noticed the look on Link's face, "Oh, I'm sorry, do you mind? The humidity is killing me, I'm all sticky." He laughed, tugging at his shirt that clung to his moist skin.  
"No, no of course not." Link turned from him and took a deep breath as he lowered his underwear, placing them with his other pieces of clothing before stepping over to the shower head nearest the window. He turned the knob to 'H' and held his hand under the water, when the water was almost too hot to stand, he stepped under the blast of water and let out a long sigh.  
The hot water washed away the sweat and dirt of the day, carrying with it his anxieties and worries and he felt himself relax for the first time since he had been pulled through the front doors of Wullhearst.  
Rhett turned on the shower next to Link and stood beneath the slightly cool water, he moaned softly as the heat and stickiness of his skin dissipated, he glanced at Link and smiled at the peaceful smile on Link's face. His heartbeat quickened as his eyes slowly lowered in curiosity, settling on Link's manhood, he gulped and looked away, silently chastising himself.  
"Rhett?"  
Rhett was yanked from his thoughts, he looked over at Link, "Yeah?"  
"What exactly is manic depression?"  
"It's kinda hard to explain really. Sometimes I'm really upset, just everything feels far away like I'm not even here, and nothing feels real, and that only makes me feel worse. Other times, I feel full of energy and really happy, but I lose control over my inhibition, and that gets me in trouble.."  
Link looked at Rhett, "What kind of trouble?"  
Rhett's face burned red and he sighed, remaining quiet. Link nodded, "I'm sorry, you can tell me some other time if you feel like it."  
Link turned the knob to the 'Off' position and walked back to his clothes, shaking the water from his hair. "Thank you Rhett, I needed this." He slipped on his clothes, the fabric clinging to his damp skin, "Will I see you tomorrow?"  
"If you want to." Rhett smiled at him and watched Link leave the room, he sighed and pressed his forehead to the cool shower tiles and turned the temperature of the water to cold in an attempt to chase away the desire bubbling up in his veins.  
Link stepped into his room and sighed as he lay on the cold concrete floor, hugging his torso to console himself, how could his family put him in such a place? What had he ever done to deserve this?

**" Charles!"**   
**Link lifted his head, looking up at his father in the doorway of his room. He looked down at his arm, covered in blood from scrubbing his skin with a piece of steel wool.**   
**"Charles what have you done to yourself?!" His dad cried and rushed over to Link, wrapping his arms around him.**   
**Link's mind exploded, "Please! Don't touch me! You're contaminated!" He wrenched himself from his father's grasp and started to scrub at every bit of skin his father had touched. His eyes filled with tears and he sobbed, he didn't even notice the pain anymore, just the germs.**   
**"Please Charles, just tell me what's wrong! What can I do?!"**   
**But Link couldn't hear him, his mind was reeling and all he could hear was that same deep voice in the back of his head, a voice that made his blood run cold.**

 

_You like being dirty, don't you Lincoln?_


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the encouraging comments, kudos, and views, it means far more to me than you could understand! Please forgive me for taking so long on writing Chapter 3, things have been hectic. Thank you all for being so patient! <3

There was a knock at the door, sharp, loud, intruding. The door was thrown open, the blinding light from the hall filling Link's vision. He groaned, lifting himself from his spot in the corner of his room and slowly pulled himself upright, his knees popping in protest.  
"Didn't sleep on your bed?" Asked one of the orderlies.  
Link looked at the bed at the other end of the room and held back his gag reflex, "No. It's filthy." He shuddered and hurried out of his room, his slippers making soft scuffing noises on the linoleum. "Is it breakfast already?"  
The orderly took his upper arm, "No. It's time for your therapy with Dr. Petrov."  
Link sighed, tugging his right arm, "You don't have to grab me.." His skin prickled under the man's touch and he felt the hairs at the back of his neck rise.  
"Yes, I do Neal, until Dr. Petrov has determined whether or not you pose a threat to staff."  
"I'm not violent.."  
"Funny, you seemed pretty violent a couple days ago."  
"You would be too if you were literally dragged in here and left to rot."  
"Yeah but I'm not the crazy one." The orderly stopped at Dr. Petrov's office and opened the door, leading Link into the room.  
Link sat down on the leather chair and laced his fingers together, bouncing his leg nervously.  
"Thank you, Jeff, you can wait by the door." Dr. Petrov waved him away. After the orderly left, Dr. Petrov turned his attention to Link, he grabbed Link's file from his desk and looked at the notes he had jotted down at their last session.  
"So, Link, how are you adjusting here so far?"  
"It's a goddamn nightmare. I sleep upright in a corner because the bed is absolutely filthy, I have to force myself to choke down the disgusting cafeteria food.."  
"Mhm." The doctor made a few scribbles in his file, "Made any friends?"  
Link swallowed nervously and stared down at his slippers, "A few."  
"Oh, that's good. Who?"  
"Rhett, Keegan, and Jaime."  
Dr. Petrov cleared his throat, "Perhaps you should make other friends."  
"Why? They're nice."  
"They're trouble makers."  
Link lifted his head and glared, "They're the only reason I haven't lost my mind in here."  
Dr. Petrov nodded, "Alright, fair enough. Now. How are you obsessive thoughts? Are you having more..less?"  
"What do you think? This place is a cesspool."  
"I see you've been picking at your skin."  
Link looked down at his forearm and tugged down the sleeve of his sweater, "I don't..I don't remember doing that.."  
"One of the orderlies last night made a note that you were scratching in your sleep. Can you remember what you were dreaming about?"  
Link sighed and closed his eyes as he searched through his memories, trying to grasp at the soft wisps of dreams evading him. "I uh..I dreamt.." He thought for a moment and shook his head, "I can't remember."  
"It must have been significant, judging by the extent of your picking. I'd like to try something, Mr. Neal, lie down on that sofa."  
Link turned his attention to the dusty sofa, his mind reeling with thoughts of who must have lay there before him, millions upon millions of skin cells and bacteria oozing from the fabric. "But-"  
"Lie down." Dr. Petrov's voice took on a more serious authoritative tone.  
Taking a deep breath Link lifted himself from his chair and slowly sat down on the couch and lay down, his hands trembling. "I-I don't know if I can do this-"  
"Quiet." Dr. Petrov moved his chair to Link's side and sat down, "Now, I want you to focus on the tip of this pen. Follow it with your eyes, not your head." He set the pace on the metronome on his desk and turned back to Link, moving his pen back and forth. "With each movement of this pen you will fall deeper and deeper into nothingness, the world will fall away, and you will drift into unconsciousness."  
Link wet his lips and nodded, following the pen with his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed as his vision became more and more hazy.  
"Your limbs weigh a ton, let them fall, let your head fall and completely relax your body. Let your mind go. Let it all fall."  
His voice became soothing to Link's ears and he felt his arms and legs fall completely limp on the couch, his head following suit. His vision blurred into one solid color and he felt himself fade into nothing, he couldn't hear or see anything.  
Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleeeep. 

~  
_Link sat on his bed, huddled under the covers with a flashlight and a Batman comic book. He grinned, excitedly flipping the pages._  
His bedroom door creaked open, he gasped and shut off the flashlight and laid down quickly, keeping his eyes shut as tightly as he could.  
"Lincoln? You awake?"  
Link opened his eyes and sat up with a smile, "Oh I thought you were my mama! She doesn't like me reading comic books before bed."  
A dark shadow sauntered over to him and sat at the edge of his bed, "What are you reading, buddy?"  
"Batman! He just caught the Joker, it was a tough fight but he got 'im!"  
The shadow reached out, placing it's hand on his shoulder. Mouth spread wide, revealing jagged teeth and a crooked forked tongue, dripping caustic green fluid.  
Link looked up at it in confusion as the shadow rubbed his back, something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "What are you-"  
~  
Link shot up from the couch, his skin covered in sticky sweat, he panted and clutched at his eyes as tears began to fall. "No..no no no." He whispered, his shoulders shivering as he sobbed.  
"I think we're getting close to the source of your compulsions, Mr. Neal."  
"Fuck my compulsions! Don't you dare do this to me again! I don't want to remember! I want to forget!" Link screamed until his throat was sore, tossing Dr. Petrov's papers onto the floor, knocking over his chairs and flinging books from his shelves.  
The orderly burst in and restrained Link, "What do you want me to do with him, Dr. Petrov?"  
Dr. Petrov sighed and adjusted his glasses, "Take him to the hydrotherapy room to calm down. I'm very disappointed in you, Mr. Neal, we were getting close to a breakthrough."  
The orderly dragged Link through the hallway, patients watching with wide eyes as Link thrashed against him and sobbed, begging to be let go. "James, I need some help in the hydrotherapy room." Another orderly followed them into the hydrotherapy room, he turned on the faucet in one of the tubs, sitting on the edge as he waited for it to fill.  
Once the tub was filled, the orderlies stripped Link naked, lifted him by his ankles and upper arms and set him into the tub. Link screamed as the freezing cold water touched his skin, his nerves were set on fire all over his body, he contorted and thrashed in the water.  
The orderlies grabbed a canvas tarp and laid it over him with only his head poking out, and drew it down, tying it around the feet of the tub, trapping him in the frigid water, they left without a word.  
Link sniffled as tears began to flow, his body trembled as it desperately tried to establish homeostasis. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried hopelessly to warm himself up. He watched the clock on the wall, his head spinning, little lights twinkling at the edge of his vision as he fought the dizziness and the fainting spell that would soon come. It was a full quarter turn of the minute clock when his vision started to blink out and his head lolled off to the side.  
"Link!" Link turned his attention to the door, Rhett ran over to him in a panic. "Oh no.." He whispered, "Let me get you outta here." He knelt down and untied the canvas straps around the feet of the tub.  
Link crawled out of the tub and collapsed onto the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, shivering violently. "T-T-Thank y-you." He whispered as his teeth chattered.  
"Jesus, your lips are blue.." Rhett whispered and grabbed Link's sweater from the floor, slipping it over Link's head, grabbing his wrists to held guide them through the sleeves. He held Link to his chest tightly and rubbed his back.  
Link froze when Rhett held him, he fought against the feeling of his skin crawling, reminding himself that Rhett was helping him, that he needed his help if he wanted to get warm. He sighed and forced himself to relax as much as he could in Rhett's arms.  
Link's face pressed against his chest, he lost track of how long he lay in Rhett's arms, but before long the chill had left his body and his own body heat returned. He pulled away from Rhett and looked into his eyes, his heart beating hard against his chest at the closeness of the taller man. "Thank you, Rhett.." He took a deep breath and fully pulled away, quickly grabbing his pants and sliding them on.  
Rhett looked away and found Link's slippers on the ground, he grabbed them and placed them upright on the floor for Link to step into. "I can't believe Petrov put you in here..all it does is make things worse." He shook his head in disbelief.  
Link rubbed his arms, "Thanks for that, how did you know I was in here?"  
"Keegan and Jaime were walking through the halls when the orderlies were bringing you in, they let me know and I came here as quickly as I could."  
"But why do you care? I mean..I hardly know you. You could get in a lot of trouble for this."  
Rhett's eyebrows furrowed and he looked away, redness creeping up his face, "You're a good person, and you're our friend, that's what friends do."  
Link's face turned bright red, "I've never really had any friends before.."  
Rhett offered a smile, "Well you do now. C'mon, let's go to breakfast."  
Link's stomach twisted, "Ugh." He shuddered, "More gross goop.."  
"Oh! I nearly forgot, I gotcha somethin'." Rhett reached into his pocket and pulled out two Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  
Link's eyes widened, "How did you get those?" He grabbed them with a smile, "Peanut Butter is my favorite." Pre-packaged treats. No germs. Not touched by anyone.  
"I've got a little extra pull with the orderlies, I don't cause any trouble, and I help them sometimes so they help me out when I need it." Rhett beamed, walking with Link down the hallway to the cafeteria, "No one will know that I got you out of there, as far as Petrov knows, your hydroptherapy was a success."  
Link looked up at him with a smile and slowly brought his hand up, patting Rhett on the shoulder once, "Thank you. Really. It means a lot."


	4. Chapter Four

Link was woken by his door opening, an orderly telling him it was time for morning vitals. He groaned and lifted himself from his normal sleeping spot and stretched, pressing his palms to either side of his spine and bending backwards to crack his sore back. He rubbed at his eyes and shuffled out of the room slowly, his vision still blurry as he walked into the clinic.  
"Have a seat, Mr. Neal." Said the young nurse.  
He sat down on the medical table, thankful for the strip of paper on top that kept it as sanitary as possible. He lifted his right arm for the nurse when prompted, watching as the nurse wrapped a blood pressure cuff over his sleeved arm. The nurse squeezed the small rubber ball and Link winced as the cuff tightened painfully around his upper arm.  
"Hmm, your pressure is a bit low. Okay, let's get your weight checked." She said, removing the stethoscope from her ears, annoyance in her voice and body language, as if she couldn't be bothered to give him the time of day.  
Link hopped off the table and stepped onto the scale, gnawing at his lower lip nervously, "Well?"  
The nurse sighed, "You're underweight, Mr. Neal. Have you been eating regularly?"  
Link shivered, "No, the food disgusts me, I don't think any of it is edible."  
The nurse adjusted her glasses as she looked over his chart, "Well, Mr. Neal, if your weight doesn't improve within the week, I'll be forced to put in a feeding tube."  
Link looked away, his cheeks burning with anger, he couldn't stomach the disgusting food they put out, but if he didn't eat more he would have a tube shoved up his nose into his stomach and be force fed by a nurse. He growled with annoyance and stepped off the scale, walking to the door.  
"Hold on, Mr. Neal, you've forgotten your medication."  
He turned with wide eyes, "Medication? For what?"  
"Just a little something to help calm you."  
"No thank you, I'm feeling fine."  
"Tough, you're taking it. Don't make my day any harder than it has to be."  
"You can't make me."  
"No, but the orderlies can, and if I have to resort to that I'll make sure that medication takes an alternative route and that won't be pleasant for either of us."  
Link grit his teeth and snatched the little paper cup from the tray beside the nurse and looked into it, a round blue pill sitting inside. He took it between his fingers, "Did you wear gloves when you put this in here..?"  
The nurse sighed in annoyance, "Yes, Mr. Neal."  
He took a deep breath and popped it into his mouth and grabbed the paper cup full of water, staring into it for a couple minutes as he swished it around checking for any dust particles, lint, or hairs. He gulped down the water, washing down the pill and looked over at the nurse who was tapping her foot.  
"Alright, open up."  
"Seriously?"  
She glared at him and slipped on a glove, grabbing his chin as she peered inside his mouth, "Move your tongue up and around." Link rolled his eyes and moved his tongue about, once she saw that he wasn't hiding his medication, she released his chin. "Okay, you can go."  
Link grumbled to himself and walked out of the clinic, scratching at his forearm absentmindedly when he heard a familiar voice.  
"Hey, bo."  
Link looked up at Rhett with furrowed brows, his heart racing, "Huh?"  
"Oh sorry, just a nickname I was trying out." Rhett laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.  
"No no, it's fine. So anyways, how's your morning so far?"  
"Shitty." He sighed and looked around them, checking for any orderlies or guards before he spit into his hand.  
Link's eyes widened, "What are you doing?"  
Rhett grinned, "Not taking these." He held up two different pills and chucked them into a nearby waste bin.  
"Whoa..how'd you do that without the nurses catching you?"  
"You stuff the pills between your back teeth and your cheek, they never check there."  
"Damn, I wish I had known that this morning." Link sighed.  
"You coming to breakfast?"  
"I really don't want to, but.." His stomach let out a growl, "Nurse says I have to or she'll put in a feeding tube."  
Rhett sighed and gave a sad smile to Link, "I'm sorry man, that's rough."  
As they walked down the hall to the cafeteria, Rhett grinned, "I've got a great idea!"  
"For what?"  
"The staff get amazing food, like restaurant quality food, so I'll just get Keegan to swipe you some!"  
Link's eyes widened with hope, "She can do that?"  
"She works in the kitchen during dinner, they have so much extra food that they don't notice when some goes missing anyways."  
Link smiled over at Rhett, how could a complete stranger be so kind? Rhett sure was somethin' else.

-

"You owe me, Rhett." Keegan ushered Rhett and Link into the storage closet beside the cafeteria, "This is all I could swipe, I hope it's enough." She held out a plate of salisbury steak, roasted potatoes and sliced carrots.  
Link's stomach suddenly growled and he blushed, holding his stomach in an attempt to calm it. "Keegan, I hate to bug you, but..did-did you by any chance wear gloves when you made this plate?" He looked at the floor embarrassed.  
Keegan smiled understandingly, "Yep, and I palmed you a few pair as well." She reached into her pocket, producing about five pairs of clear gloves.  
Link grinned and stuffed all but one pair into his pockets, slipping the remaining pair on his hands. He let out a sigh of relief, tears brimming his eyes, "Keegan..thank you." He took the plate full of food from her and looked down at it with hungry eyes.  
She smiled and nodded, "Well I better get back before Theresa gets on my ass about not getting the dishes done on time. I'll see ya'll tomorrow, ok?" She opened the storage closet and hurried back to the kitchen.  
"Come on, I've got somewhere to show you, Link." Rhett smiled brightly and stepped out of the closet, checking down the halls before waving his hand, "Coast is clear, come on." He hurried down the hall to the stairwell, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a bobby pin, he pushed it into the lock and crouched near the lock, concentrating as he worked the tumblers.  
Link watched in amazement and his eyebrows lifted in surprise when he heard a soft 'click' and Rhett turned the knob, pushing the door open to reveal the stairwell. Link couldn't help but smile and rushed into the stairwell excitedly, anything was better than those white painted halls filled with groaning drugged up patients.  
"Where are we going?"  
"It's a surprise. We're almost there." Rhett said as they made their way to the lower levels of the asylum, stopping at a door marked 'Do NOT Enter'. "This place used to be a recreation room but after there was a riot, they decided us 'loons' didn't deserve it, so they locked it all away."  
Rhett fiddled with the lock of the recreation room and within minutes the lock gave way and he pushed it open, "Viola!".  
Link stepped into the room, "Uh..what am I supposed to be seeing here?" He squinted in the darkness.  
Rhett stepped into the room and felt the right wall, finding the light switch and flipping the right most switch. The lights flickered on, illuminating the large abandoned room, tarps covering all manner of furniture and boxes. He closed the door behind them and walked to the center of the room where a table and two chairs sat, he pulled out one of the chairs with a smile to Link.  
Link's face flushed red and he slowly made his way to the table, as he sat down Rhett gently pushed the chair toward the table. "Thank you." He unwrapped his plate of food and took a napkin from his pocket to clean off the utensils Keegan had included with his food.  
After he had sufficiently cleaned his fork and knife, Link took a deep breath and cut a piece of the salisbury steak and brought it to his lips slowly. He examined the piece of meat, finding no fault in it or any off odor, he popped the piece into his mouth. His eyes widened in shock and he relaxed into his seat, closing his eyes and sighing as he chewed and enjoyed the bite.  
"You like it, I take it?" Rhett smiled, his hands folding on the table.  
"It's delicious!" Link grinned and began scarfing down his food, his starving belly happily being filled. It took only a few minutes for him to devour each and every bite, he leaned back against his chair and sighed contentedly, "I haven't had a meal like that in...years. Thank you, Rhett."  
"It was nothing, buddyroll."  
Link's eyebrows furrowed.  
"What?"  
"Nothing." Link chuckled and stood, wandering about the room, poking around the discarded boxes, noticing the flat and wide cardboard box sitting atop a short stack of boxes. He lifted the box up, noticing it looked brand new. "Hey Rhett, look, they've got Clue!" He smiled and turned to face Rhett.  
"Oh wow! It's been so many years since I've played that, it was my favorite."  
"Yeah, mine too, I was always Professor Plum. Do you uh..wanna play?"  
Rhett grinned with a nod, clearing off Link's plate and utensils on the table. He sat down with Link and they took the game from it's box, shuffling the three card categories and closing their eyes as they picked one of each stack to put into the envelope marked 'Confidential'. Link set down the game and divided the remaining cards amoung themselves, "Who do you want to play, Coronal Mus-?"  
"Coronal Mustard." Rhett laughed as they said the same name at the same time, "Wow that was weird."  
"Yeah, wow." Link laughed and shook his head, he placed their characters in their corresponding places and began to play. It wasn't long before Link's worries began to leave him, he felt like a kid again, nothing else existed except this moment.  
"AHA! I've got it! Hot damn, I've got it!" Rhett grinned, "It's Mr. Green, in the billiard room, with a gun!" He grabbed the envelope and peeked inside, shouting happily when he saw that he was correct. "Yes! Still got it." He stood, doing a victory dance.  
Link watched him, his heart fluttering beneath his ribs, he had to force himself to stop staring. "Good job, Rhett! Here I thought it was Mrs. White in the library with a wrench! I always thought she seemed a bit sketchy." He narrowed his eyes at the Mrs. White character piece and chuckled.  
A soft female voice was heard through the door, the nightly announcements telling patients to get their night time meds and retire to their rooms. "Damn, well we better head back." Rhett sighed and put everything back to where it belonged.  
"We should do this more often." Link smiled and left the room with Rhett, walking up the stairs to the door they came from.  
Rhett cracked the door open and they peeked through, when the orderlies walked past they stepped out and closed the door behind them, rushing down the hallway laughing.  
"I can't believe we got away with it! You're a bad influence, Rhett." Link teased with a giggle, looking up at him with gentle eyes.  
Rhett returned the gaze, he leaned forward a fraction of an inch, his eyes pained as he moved back. "Good night, Link.." He gave the shorter man a smile and walked past him to the stairwell that lead down to the hallway where his room was. As soon as he got to his room, he collapsed onto his tattered mattress, tears stinging his eyes. Rhett screamed into the fabric, his breath coming out in pained hiccups as he sobbed, if Link only knew.


	5. Chapter Five

Rhett awoke with a gasp, his heart raced and he jolted up from his mattress panting. Another nightmare. He tugged at his tshirt and pulled it off, tossing it across the room with a huff, his skin covered in a thick layer of sweat. The moment his eyes closed each night he was thrown into darkness, paranoia licking at his nerves, slowly driving him insane, he didn't know how much more he could take.  
He felt the depression closing in, like night strangling the day, his brain activity slowed and he felt his heart struggle to beat. This was how it always was, ever since he was a kid. His family knew there was something wrong, but they had no idea what, all they knew was that their child had violent mood swings, he would be bubbly and outgoing one moment, then the next it was as if all the life had been sucked out of him.  
When Rhett was a child, he had a friend, a best friend, someone he confided in and shared his feelings with, his problems weren't erased but just being near him somehow made his world seem brighter. They were attached at the hip, he thought it would be like that forever, until the terrible day in summer when he lost his best friend forever, nothing would ever be the same again, and Rhett's progress in handling his condition went down hill and fast. Every day after school for months afterward he would take his normal route home like he had always done with his best friend, only to realize he wasn't there beside him anymore; he'd stop by his house, seeing his mother sat on the porch swing, slowly rocking herself as she stared off into the distance, the pain of losing her child too much to bear. Slowly, Rhett realized that his best friend was gone and was never coming back, an incredibly hard thing for a child to understand, and he began to take the other route home; gradually, the pain began to lessen and he found he could breathe easier, but like any emotional pain, it's never really gone, it only hides in the dark corner of your mind.  
Rhett pressed his damp back to the cold concrete of the wall farthest from his door and sighed, running his hand through his hair. Whenever he was around Link, it reminded him of being a child again with his best friend, and it destroyed him every time. Years later and he still couldn't shake the memory of the gentle little boy who lived down the street, although it hurt, being near Link helped fill the void that was left behind, and it was like time hadn't passed and everything was alright again, only when they were apart was Rhett left to realize it wasn't real, his best friend wasn't coming back, and Link wasn't him.  
Rhett took a deep breath and stood, walking over to the window and looking out, it was still night, and a storm had begun to rage. He pressed his hand to the glass and tried to fight back the tears stinging his eyes, all he wanted was to feel the rain, to touch the memory of that late spring day with his friend; it had been a storm unlike any other, his mother and father boarded up the windows and instructed him to stay inside, but he had always loved the rain, and he couldn't think of any place he would rather be than with his friend. He worked the nails out of the board on his window and climbed down the large trellis and hopped down onto the soft, damp ground, grinning as he ran to his friend's house. He was already waiting outside for Rhett, Rhett grinned and grabbed his hand, and together they ran through the woods to a nearby clearing filled with daffodils and various wild flowers. The rain cascaded down faster and they giggled, holding out their arms and spinning around, their warm sun kissed skin cooled by the rain as lightning scattered across the sky.  
Rhett sniffled and took a deep breath, forcing his fist through the glass of the window; shards of glass stuck to his knuckles and he found himself laughing gleefully when his hand was granted the cool touch of the rain. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he let out a loud, joyful laugh, watching the lightning erupt from the sky and skitter downward.  
Why can't you be him, Link?  
"McLaughlin! Step away from the window!" An orderly burst through the door, his eyes widening at the blood dripping down Rhett's arm and the crimson puddle on the floor.  
Rhett turned with a smile, cackling as he looked at the rain drops resting on his palm. He was no longer here, he was in that clearing, the place where childhood innocence and love resided.  
"Jesus..Come on, man, let's get you patched up." The orderly took his arm and lead him from the room to the clinic.  
The nurse gasped, "What happened?"  
"He punched the window, I've never seen him like this before, I mean he has his bad days but..he's really lost it this time."  
"Thank you, Mel, you can go, I've got it from here."  
The orderly left the room and the nurse took a deep breath, "Okay, Mr. McLaughlin, I'll need to see your hand, please." She said gently, pushing at his shoulders to sit him down beside the padded table. She took his hand and gingerly stretched out his arm, letting it rest on the table as she looked it over.  
The nurse took a pair of tweezers and began picking the glass from his knuckles and fingers, noticing that Rhett never moved, his eyes transfixed on something in the distance. She quickly cleaned his wounds, stitched the bigger ones, and wrapped his hand. She grabbed a syringe and pushed it into a glass bottle, drawing back three mL of a sedative and swabbed Rhett's arm with alcohol before sticking him with the needle. "This will help you sleep tonight, I'll check on your hand in a few days to see how it's progressing, alright?" She asked, but she knew he wasn't paying attention.  
The nurse opened the door and looked down the hall, "Mel?"  
The orderly came rushing in, "Yeah?"  
"Have someone fix that window, or at least board it up so he can't hurt himself again."  
"Already done, it's a temporary fix, enough to get him through the night. C'mon, Rhett." The orderly held his upper arm and took him back to his room, "Try to get some sleep, ok?".  
Rhett sat down on the cold floor, his mind slowly beginning to clear. He hissed in pain and looked at his hand, "What..?" He looked over at his boarded up window and sighed, "Jesus.." He hated these episodes, it felt like nothing was real, no sensation, no noise, none of it was real, it was like a lucid dream and you could do anything with no consequence, only when the episode ended would he realize the things he had done.  
He heard a soft rustling noise and felt something fall on his lap, he looked down at the rolled up piece of paper and pencil and felt his heart ache. Rhett held it in his hand and crawled to his door, laying down on his stomach and pressing the note flat on the floor so that he could use the light from under the door to read it.  
_Are you ok?? I heard something break down there._  
Rhett sighed and licked at his lips nervously, he couldn't very well lie, Link would see his injured hand in the morning and know he hadn't been honest. He pressed the pencil to the paper and began to write,  
_No. Broke my window. I wanted to feel the rain. Sorry for waking you up._  
Rhett rolled up the paper and pencil and stood on his tip toes, pushing them through the crack in the ceiling, within seconds it was pushed back. He made his way back to the door and laid down, his eyes bristling with tears as he read,  
_I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. If you need anything, please let me know ok?? You're my best friend, that's what we do._  
Rhett held back a sob and feverishly wiped his eyes, sniffling as he scribbled back a reply and pushed it through the crack in the ceiling. He knelt down onto his mattress and lay on his side, holding himself and rocking back and forth as he allowed the tears to flow freely.  
Link grabbed the note from the crack in his floor and moved into the light emitting from his window and looked down,  
_Thank you. Goodnight, Linkster._  
Link pressed the note to his chest and curled up in the corner of his room, smiling up at the window as he watched the lightning flicker, the soft sound of the thunder rumbling soothing him to sleep.


	6. Chapter Six

-A Week Later-

"Neal, time for morning vitals."  
A sharp rap on the metal door stirred Link from his slumber, he quickly tucked Rhett's note into his waistband and stood, lifting his glasses to rub at his tired eyes. His joints cracked as he walked, he looked down at his body and smiled, he had been gaining weight steadily and the sharp cheekbones that were once visible in his face were hidden beneath plump skin. Every day, Keegan would swipe him food that the staff ate and he and Rhett would go back down to the rec room to eat and play board games, something so simple had become a beloved ritual amongst the two.  
The orderly escorted him to the clinic and Link stepped inside, sitting down with his arm stretched out awaiting the blood pressure cuff.  
"Ah, Mr. Neal, you seem to be in good spirits today."  
"I've gained weight." Link grinned, too long he had been underweight and it had taken a toll on him, his bones were fragile and his joints ached, his muscles were deteriorating rapidly, but little by little he could feel his body becoming healthier, gaining strength where there was none.  
"That's good to hear." The nurse took his blood pressure and heart rate, jotted down the results on his chart and put her tools away, "Alright, let's check your weight then."  
Link hopped onto the scale and nervously chewed at his lip as he watched the nurse adjust it, moving the bars down the line to even the balance of the scale. "So you have gained weight, Mr. Neal, very good. You can step down now."  
"So no feeding tube?"  
"No feeding tube." The nurse handed him his meds and sat back down at her desk, scribbling notes down in his file.  
Link popped the pills into his mouth and did as Rhett instructed, pushing them between his cheek and upper molars and gulped down the water, the nurse peered into his mouth and under his tongue, and seeing no pills were hidden she sent him on his way.  
Link left the room and grinned when he saw Rhett leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and smiling. Link's heart fluttered, "What's got you smiling so early in the morning?"  
Rhett bit his lip, "You've gained weight, you look good. So no feeding tube?"  
Link grinned and shook his head, "Nope! Thank you for your help, Rhett, I don't know what I'd do without you."  
Rhett blushed, "Anytime, Link." His face turned a soft shade of pink and he scratched at the back of his neck.  
Link smiled and walked beside Rhett as they made their way to the cafeteria. "So how's your hand feeling?"  
Rhett looked down at his hand, his fingers and knuckles were still bruised, the wounds held tight with sutures. "Better. I get the stitches out today."  
"You never really told me what happened that night..do you wanna talk about it?" Link looked up at him.  
"I just..I get like that sometimes. I start remembering things I've tried to tuck away, and it hurts. There was this kid I grew up with, we were inseperable, but I lost him, and I've never really recovered from it. He was my soul mate, we were like two halves of one person, and now..I'm just one half." Rhett spoke softly, his heart aching and tears beginning to fill his eyes.  
Link's eyes softened, "I'm so sorry, Rhett, I can't imagine what that must be like, I've never been that close to anyone."  
Rhett sniffled, tears falling, "No one?" He wiped at his eyes.  
"No. I was always a really shy kid so I didn't make a whole lot of friends." Link looked down, his fingers fidgeting.  
"I'm s-sorry to hear that, Link." Rhett patted his shoulder gently, "But hey, you got me, Keegan and Jamie, right? That's somethin'."  
Link lifted his head with a gentle smile, "Yeah, that's somethin'." He bumped his hip into Rhett's with a soft chuckle.  
"Hey boys!"  
Link smiled, waving at Keegan and Jamie, "I'll be there in a second." He walked over to the left end of the food line and grabbed a big handful of napkins and stuffed them into his pockets and did his every day cleaning ritual of his utensils and food tray.  
"What'll it be, Neal?"  
Link grimaced at the lunch lady, her breath reeking of cheap wine and strong cheese, he held back the urge to gag and held his breath, "Toast, and a boiled egg please."  
The lunch lady grabbed two pieces of toast and put them onto his tray and placed a hard boiled egg still in the shell onto his tray.  
Link looked up at her and gulped, her nose was red and swollen, no doubt from all the wine she drinks, and freckled with dark spots that he knew to be black heads. Her face was covered in swollen volcanos of oil ready to burst at any minute. Link hurried down the line and felt his stomach twist, that lady was a walking biohazard, her greasy hair stuck out from her hairnet, the tips of her fingernails were black from all the dirt and grime shoved up under them, and her yellow teeth always had food caked on them, one good cough and what she had for dinner the previous night would land on you or in your food.  
Link sat down at their usual table and stared down at his food, examining it.  
_She contaminated your food. Did you see all the gunk under her fingernails? It's in your food now. She wasn't wearing gloves today._  
Link gagged violently, covering his mouth as his stomach did somersaults. He could see it in his mind, her greasy fingers smearing sweat and oil and germs onto his food, it was ruined.  
_See those white spots on your toast? It's dandruff. Those dirty fingers of hers were picking at her lice infested scalp and now it's all over your food._  
Link pressed his hands to his ears, rocking back and forth in his seat, "Shut up shut up shut up shut up." He repeated over and over in a whisper.  
"Is he ok?" Keegan whispered to Rhett, biting her lip.  
Rhett's eyebrows furrowed, "Link?"  
Link was jerked from his thoughts and he looked at Rhett with bloodshot eyes, "M-my food.." He whispered, pointing a shaking finger at his tray.  
"There's nothing there, Link.."  
"IT'S THERE! GERMS. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" Link whispered louder, his eyes wild. "THEY'RE ALL OVER ME!" He wiped at his hands with his napkins.  
"Link, c'mon." Rhett lifted himself from his seat, he knew exactly where Link needed to go. "We'll be right back, girls."  
Link walked with Rhett out of the cafeteria to the hydrotherapy room, immediately Link stripped down to just his slippers and rushed over to the shower.  
Rhett sat down on the edge of one of the hydrotherapy tubs and watched him with heartbroken eyes, "I thought you were doing better.."  
Link stepped under the scalding hot water and rubbed the bar of soap over his body, scrubbing his skin with his nails frantically, "No, Rhett, I just hide it from you better.."  
"Why would you try and hide it from me?"  
"Because I just..I don't want to worry you." Link bowed his head under the water, wetting his hair and washing away the tears falling down his cheeks.  
Rhett stood, "You don't have to hide from me, Link, of course I worry but I just want to help in any way I can." He stood beside Link, his clothes getting drenched.  
Link turned to look at him, the skin around his eyes blotchy and red and swollen, "Rhett-"  
Rhett pressed his lips to Link's, his eyes closing slowly as he pulled the brunette to him.  
Link pulled away with a gasp, "Y-your germs.." He hyperventilated, his fingers touching his own lips.  
"Link, I'm not contaminated, we're under hot water. We're safe here."  
Link looked up at Rhett, his face red, and backed away slowly, "I'm sorry Rhett, I..I can't." He sniffled and hurried over to his clothes, tugging them on and hurrying out of the hydrotherapy room.  
Rhett sighed, pressing his forehead to the cool shower wall, "Link.." He growled in annoyance, smashing his fist into the tiles, "Why did I push him? I should've known he wasn't ready.."


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just had to write two chapters today. Ugh. My heart. 
> 
> Thank you for all the views, kudos, and comments, it warms my heart and gives me the drive to write more and more. Love you my little cinnamon rolls. ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are audible hallucinations. Bold within ~ are flashbacks. Italics in / are thoughts.

Link lay on Dr. Petrov's couch, picking at his arms absentmindedly, he wasn't ready for another therapy session.  
"Can I skip out on the session today? I'm just..not feeling it today."  
"Has something happened?" Dr. Petrov sat back in his chair, cleaning his glasses.  
Link's heart raced and he felt heat rise up his neck.  
Rhett kissed me.  
Link cleared his throat and shook his head, "No, just having a hard time today."  
Dr. Petrov nodded, "I understand, but regardless, Mr. Neal, we need to proceed if you want to progress in your treatment."  
"Fine.." Link sighed and rested his shaking hands on his stomach, "I'm ready."  
Dr. Petrov began his hypnotism ritual and within minutes Link was falling into blackness, time seemed to slow and his arms and legs fell limp.  
"We need to go back, back to the start."  
Link's breathing began to quicken, he was in his childhood bedroom again, sitting on his bed with a Batman comic book and a large shadow sitting next to him.

~  
**"What are you doing?" Link lifted his head, looking up at the black mass as it leaned closer. The shadow wrapped it's arms around him and hugged him, Link giggled and pushed away, "Gross! Cooties!"**  
**The shadow cackled, it's laugh shaking the walls, picture frames and bookshelves crashing down onto the floor.**  
**"Guess what?" The shadow grinned.**  
**"What?"**  
**"I built us a fort in the back yard. Wanna go see it?"**  
**"Yeah!" Link giggled and scooped up an armful of comic books and his flashlight to bring with him and walked beside the shadow down the hall and out the back door.**  
**There in the back yard was a fort in the shape of a big triangle made of various branches and planks of wood that Link's father had no use for. "Wow..this is amazing!" Link cackled and rushed over to it, plopping down inside.**  
**The shadow followed, taking long strides behind him. It curled up inside the tent and grinned, showing it's crooked, mangled teeth. "We can come here and play all we want, it'll be our secret club, no one else is allowed."**  
**Link nodded, opening his comic book and turning on his flashlight to read when he left off. The shadow reached out a hand and cupped his jaw, "Lincoln, we could even play house."**  
**"Um, okay!"**  
**The shadow leaned over and brushed it's slimy lips over his, Link pulled away in confusion, the monstrous being pressed it's finger over his lips, "It's what mommies and daddies do. It's okay."**  
~  
Link jolted up from the couch, panting and clutching at his chest. "Please..please no more." He begged to no one in particular, hot tears streaming down his cheeks.  
"We're getting further, Mr. Neal, we just need to push further. Lie back down."  
Link lay down slowly, gulping down the lump growing in his throat.  
He was falling once more.  
"Mr. Neal, I assume you knew who this person was?"  
"No.."  
"Yes you do. Who was it?"  
"I..I don't..know."  
"They can't hurt you, Mr. Neal, you're safe here."  
Link whimpered and thrashed.  
"Okay, you don't have to say right now. What happened next?"  
"Nothing, until.."  
"Until you were fourteen?"  
Link nodded, tears rolling down his cheeks as his eyes were closed.  
"Okay, I want you to go back to when you were fourteen, tell me what happened."  
~  
**"Happy Birthday, Lincoln!" The shadow emerged, it's monstrous form slowly morphing into a tall male figure.**  
**Link grinned and hugged him, "Thanks!"**  
**The shadow looked around the room, "Where is everyone?"**  
**"Mom's getting the cake and some extra decorations, the party starts at 2."**  
**"Good. Well, do you want your present now or later?"**  
**"Now!" He laughed in excitement, "What did you get me?"**  
**"Come on, I'll show you."**  
**The shadow led Link upstairs to his bedroom, Link's eyebrows furrowed as he looked around his room, "I don't understa-" He was pushed with incredible force onto his bed, his head hitting the headboard.**  
**Link groaned in pain and looked up at him in fear, "What was that for?" He whimpered, holding the back of his head.**  
**"It's your birthday gift. I've been waiting too long for this."**  
**The shadow pounced at him and his world went black, when he came to his pants were being put back on and his jaw ached.**  
**"W-What..what happened?" Link whispered in a hoarse whisper, his eyes widening when he realized what had taken place. His heart raced and he gasped for air, "No..no oh god no." He whispered, rocking to soothe himself, "How could you..?"**  
**The shadow cackled and reached his hand out, grabbing a fistful of Link's hair to bring him to his face, "If you tell anyone, I will kill you and everyone you have ever loved."**  
**Link sobbed, "I-I won't.." The shadow released him and Link collapsed onto the floor, sobbing as his lower half burned in pain. He lay there for hours, his pants soaked in his blood.**  
**"Charles? Come on honey, you need to help me set up all these decorations." His mother sang happily as she knocked on his door.**  
**Link hurriedly took off his pants and shoved them into his closet, "I'm getting dressed, mama, be right out!" His voice quivered, he quickly got dressed and looked at himself in the mirror, all he could feel was disgust.**  
~  
"Okay, Mr. Neal, come back, it's alright, he's not here anymore, come back to where it's safe." Dr. Petrov whispered.  
Link's eyes opened slowly and he sat up, his body shaking violently.  
"We're done for today, Mr. Neal, we're making progress."  
Link hurried out of Dr. Petrov's office and hugged his arms around himself, shuddering. He had blocked out those memories long ago, he wanting nothing more than to be rid of them.  
_Figured out who I am yet?_  
Link's blood ran cold, not again. He silently begged the voice to stop torturing him.  
_You know who I am, Lincoln, you never forget your first._  
Link's stomach twisted and he grabbed the side of a nearby garbage can, dry heaving into it.  
"Whoa, you okay?"  
Link recoiled from the voice and looked up, seeing Rhett.  
Rhett sighed, "I'm sorry about what happened in the hydrotherapy room, I just thought.."  
"No, i-it's ok. I mean..it's fine." Link blushed.  
"Link..it won't ruin our friendship, will it?"  
"Not at all." Link swallowed the lump in his throat. _/I want nothing more than to be with you, Rhett, but how can I? I'd never be able to touch you. You deserve so much more than that./_  
Rhett smiled, "Alright, good, I'm so relieved. Well um..see you for dinner? Rec room?"  
Link nodded, "Yep."


	8. Chapter Eight

Link sat down across from Rhett at the table in the rec room, his tray of food left untouched in front of him.  
"Hey..you ok? You haven't even touched your food. Did I tell Keegan to get you the wrong thing?" Rhett leaned forward in concern.  
"No, it's one of my favorites actually, it's just..I'm still kinda reeling from therapy."  
"I assume it didn't go well?"  
"Understatement of the century." Link ran a quivering hand through his hair.  
"Do you want to talk about it? I mean, you don't have to, but I'm here if you do."   
Link lifted his eyes to meet Rhett's, tears already welling up, "I do.." He whispered hoarsely. "I'm just scared." He shifted his gaze back down.  
"Of what, Link?"  
"That you'll look at me differently or somethin'."  
Rhett offered a smile, "I'd never think differently of you. Just tell me when you're ready, ok?"  
Link nodded and after a few deep breaths he lifted his eyes once more, "I was abused. It started on my fourteenth birthday and it went on for two years, almost every day. The things he made me do and say.." His body trembled, "It made me feel disgusting and used. The names he called me..I started to believe him. I blocked it out for so many years, but these sessions with Dr. Petrov, it's just bringing it all back.."  
Rhett sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm so sorry, Link.." Tears welled up in his eyes, "Did you know him?"  
Link slowly nodded, "I don't know how I knew him, but I did. I can't picture his face or his name, but I was friends with him before he started hurting me. It's like my mind doesn't want me to know who he is, like I won't be able to handle it or something, so much of it is blacked out."  
Rhett's hands trembled and began to sweat, he swallowed nervously, "So you don't know who it was?"  
Link shook his head with a sigh, "No. It's just a shadow in my memory." He poked at his food with his fork, "So..you don't think less of me?"  
"God no, of course not, Link. Thank you for telling me." Rhett sighed.  
Link's heart gave a flutter and he relaxed into his seat, wiping at his eyes with a small laugh, "Thank you. It feels so good to get that stuff off my chest with someone I trust." He slowly reached out his rubber gloved hand and laid it over Rhett's hand, softly rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand.  
Rhett gasped softly and looked down at the sudden action of affection and bit his lip, his heart swelled and he felt dizzy, and just as quickly as he had touched him, his hand was pulled back. Rhett drew back his own hand and rested them on his lap, softly touching the area Link had grazed, his skin flushed and hot.  
"Have you decided what game you wanna play tonight?" Link asked before taking a bite of his food, his gloves making squeeky noises as he moved his fingers.  
Rhett thought for a moment and grinned, "I've got just the game!" He left his seat and rifled through the dusty boxes and chuckled when he found the white box he had be searching for. He opened the box and pulled out the white and multi colored plastic sheet, unfolding it and placing it on the floor.  
"What's that?" Link asked, leaning to the side in his seat to get a better look.  
"You've never played Twister?"  
Link shook his head and stood from his seat, walking over to Rhett with a raised eyebrow. "What are you supposed to do?"  
Rhett chuckled, "You spin the spinner, what it lands on that's what you have to do. Like if it says 'Left Hand Red' you put your left hand on one of the red spots, then I take my turn and back and forth. It's easy in the beginning, but it gets difficult real quick."  
Link smiled, "Okay, you go first."   
Rhett flicked the spinner, right foot blue. He placed his right foot on one of the blue dots and smiled over at Link, "Your turn."  
Link spun, right hand green. He leaned down and pressed his right hand on the green circle, "Oh god..this is gonna be tough."  
Rhett laughed, "You've barely started and already you're about to give in? Weakling." He teased.   
Link growled playfully, "I'll last longer than you will."  
"We'll see." Rhett took his turn and placed his left hand on yellow.   
As the two each took their turns with the spinner, it got more and more difficult. Link's torso was covered in a thin line of sweat as he propped himself up under Rhett, his arms quivering in exhaustion. Rhett loomed over Link in a bridge shape, his face inches from the brunette's, Link's arms and legs spread wide on the green and red circles.   
"Had enough?" Rhett whispered, smirking, his own body screaming in fatigue.   
Link looked up at him, panting, beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face. "N-No.." He answered back, grimacing as he fought the burning pain in his arms.  
Rhett leaned down, gazing into his eyes gently, forgetting about the pain whenever he looked into those beautiful blue pools.  
Link blushed softly and raised himself as much as possible, leaning his face to Rhett's, his lips merely milimeters from the blond's, his breath hot on Rhett's lips.  
Rhett's eyes widened and his arms gave out, causing him to collapse onto Link, Link let out an 'oof' when he hit the floor, laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?" Rhett asked, blushing as he struggled to lift himself from the floor but his arms were far too weak.   
Link wiped at the tears forming in his eyes and held back his laugh attack, "Your face! I knew there was no way I could win, so.." He blushed.  
"You cheated! That means I win by default." Rhett laughed.  
"You didn't seem to mind.." Link slowly looked down at the taller man's lips, licking his own lips in need.  
Rhett held himself up by his forearms, the shorter man laying beneath him, Link's legs on either side of Rhett's hips. He leaned down slowly and cupped Link's chin. "Do you want me to kiss you?" He whispered, his heart racing.   
Link took a deep breath, slowly looking up into his eyes, nodding, "Yes." He whispered weakly.  
Rhett leaned down, pressing his lips to Link's ear, the younger man gasped. Rhett slowly slid his tongue between his teeth, softly trailing it around Link's ear, as his tongue met his earlobe he softly drew it between his lips, gently sucking it.  
Link gasped, his eyes closing tightly, his hands grabbing at the plastic sheet beneath them.  
 _All that bacteria, it's on you now. There's no escaping it. He has infected you, and you. let. him. You're nothing but a whore, Lincoln. You'd spread yourself for anyone._  
"Hey.." Rhett whispered, softly brushing his thumb against Link's cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. "Are you alright? Do you want me to stop?"  
 _Yes. Stop. Stop before you're riddled with his infectious germs._   
"No. Please..don't stop." Link whispered weakly, his face bright red with embarassment.  
Rhett softly smiled, "I won't hurt you, Link. I just want to love you." He leaned down and pressed his lips to Link's, softly sucking his lower lip. Link gasped, the moment his lips parted, Rhett's tongue slid between his teeth, softly flicking his tongue and swirling around it.   
Link slowly melted into Rhett's embrace, mimicking the taller man's actions, a soft whimper leaving his lips when Rhett sucked his tongue. Link panted beneath him, his skin was hot, his length hardening and pressing against his sweat pants.   
Rhett moaned, Link's erection pressing against his thigh, he bit his lip with a smile and leaned down, their mouths meeting once more. He took his time with the brunette, his kisses slow and gentle but passionate, he slowly ran his hands down Link's torso, massaging his body and leaving no patch of skin untouched. His fingers pushed up Link's sweater, softly swirling around his navel and across the strip of flesh just above the hem of his sweat pants.  
Link's breath was stolen at Rhett's touch, he had barely done anything and already he was finding it hard to hold back climax. He looked into Rhett's eyes, he was lost in them, not knowing how to form words, he was putty in Rhett's capable hands.  
Rhett searched Link's eyes, "Link, are you here with me?" He cooed gently, massaging Link's scalp, stopping his movements near his pants until Link nodded.   
"Y-Yes, I'm ok..j-just.." Link blushed and looked down, motioning to his swollen member painfully pressed against his pants.   
"Do you want me to touch you?" Rhett's voice had dropped an octave, revealing the state of his arousal.   
"Please..touch me." Link trembled beneath him. Rhett smiled gently and kissed him, his eyes fluttering closed as his hand slowly slipped under Link's sweat pants. He massaged the skin around his length, the shorter man panting at his touch. Rhett gently moved his fingers along Link's thickness, causing him to gasp and moan in surprise, his hips bucking beneath him.  
Rhett smirked, gripping Link's cock and slowly stroking as he squeezed, his eyes watching Link's face with hunger, every ounce of pleasure shown on the brunettes face.  
"R-Rhett!" Link whimpered, his hips involuntarily rocking against Rhett's hand, begging for a quicker pace. Rhett removed his hand from Link's pants and Link looked at him with confusion, his chest rising and falling quickly. "Wha-"  
"Shh. Relax." Rhett smiled and moved himself down Link's body, easing his pants down. Link looked away blushing, biting his lower lip once his erection was freed from his pants, a drop of precum already making it's way down his length.  
Rhett slowly slid his tongue up the underside of Link's cock, gathering the trail of precum on his tongue. Link let out a loud moan, his back arching in pure pleasure. "P-Please Rhett.." He begged, not sure what he was begging for, he just knew he didn't want it to stop.  
Rhett chuckled, his breath hot against his manhood, he slowly wrapped his lips around the tip of Link's cock, steadily working his way down until his entire length was hot and heavy on his tongue. He sucked hard, bobbing his head up and down on his cock, swirling his tongue against the underside of his cock.  
Link gasped, holding himself up on his forearms, his hips jerking violently, pushed to the cusp of climax. He moaned Rhett's name, praying to him, worshipping him, begging him.  
Rhett looked up at him with lust in his eyes, gripping Link's cock and stroking it as he sucked the tip, flicking his tongue against it quickly. Link squealed in pleasure, his hips jerking upwards for a final time as he spilled his warm cum into Rhett's mouth, his trembling body collapsing onto the plastic sheet, exhausted.   
Rhett gulped every drop of the brunette's cum and slowly made his way back upwards, pulling Link's pants back up onto his hips. He lay on his side beside Link, his own chest heaving. He pressed his hand to Link's chest, gently rubbing it. "Are you ok?"  
Link laughed, gasping for breath, the tips of his fringe damp and stuck to his forehead, he tried to speak but no words would come that were worthy of what he felt.   
Rhett chuckled, "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Come on, we better get back before they do evening checks." He stood and held out his hand to Link.  
Link sat up and looked down at his gloved hands and slowly slid them off and looked up at Rhett, tears rolling down his cheeks. He reached out his hand and took Rhett's, the warmth of his hand soothing his soul.   
_/Maybe there is hope for me./_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry in advance for this one. T___T <3

Link made his way to the cafeteria, he stood in the doorway and scanned the room for Rhett. His smile dropped when he didn't see the tall blond anywhere, he noticed Keegan and Jaime at their usual table and made a shrug, mouthing the words, 'Where's Rhett?'.  
Keegan and Jaime exchanged a look and turned their attention to Link, their eyebrows furrowed, and both shrugged.  
Link's heart skipped a beat, he rushed to the stairwell and ran down, his heart racing as he made his way to Rhett's room. He reached into his pocket and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves before knocking on the steel door, "Rhett..?"   
He leaned in close to the door with his ear facing the metal, "Rhett? It's Link." He heard a soft rustling sound and sighed in relief, Rhett had probably just decided to sleep in.  
The door was thrown open.  
Link stepped back, his eyes wide in horror, "Rhett..?" He whispered, his hand covering his mouth.  
Rhett stood in the doorwar, his skin pale and sweaty, heavy bags under his eyes, he struggled to smile, "Hey, L-Link.."  
"My god Rhett..are you okay?"  
Rhett slowly closed the door behind him, his eyes bloodshot and full of tears, "I'm fine."  
Link raised his hand to place it on Rhett's shoulder, but the taller man shied away. "Please Rhett..tell me what's wrong."  
"I said, I'm f-fine, alright?" Rhett hissed and walked slowly beside Link, his shoulders slumped over and his head tilted down.   
Link bit his lip as he watched him, he looked like he was at death's door. He fought back tears, Rhett had seemed fine the day before. He fidgeted with the sleeves of his sweater, looking anywhere but at Rhett, it hurt his heart seeing him in this state. Link remained quiet as they walked into the cafeteria, his mind raced, almost becoming dizzy.   
Rhett stood in the food line and grabbed a food tray, his hands trembling. After the lunch lady dumped big spoonfuls of various foods onto his tray, he made his way to their table, shuffling his feet the entire way.  
Keegan and Jaime looked to Link, their eyes wide, begging for answers to Rhett's state. Link shrugged, chewing his bottom lip nervously. Rhett sat down and began eating, his eyes glazed over and blank, staring off into the distance at nothing.   
"What gives man, why do you look like death?" Jaime asked, poking at her blue jello as she spoke.  
Link and Keegan's eyes widened, Keegan kicked Jaime's shin, glaring at her and pressing her finger to her lip in a 'shh' sign.   
Rhett sighed, stilling his movements, "J-Just drop it, okay?" He said in a hushed whisper, his hands trembling as he brought another bite of food to his lips.   
Keegan smiled softly, "Well I'm gonna go clean up in the kitchen, meet you guys in the stairwell like usual?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood.  
"Ye-" Link began.  
"No." Rhett whispered.  
Link looked to Rhett in confusion. "But..Keegan always brings my food and we go eat in the rec room, it's our daily routine." Link said, his smile falling.   
"Not anymore."   
"What? Why?" Link's heart dropped, he reached out a gloved hand to Rhett.  
Rhett slapped his hand away, "Because I said no, okay?" He huffed and stood from the table, leaving the cafeteria quickly.   
"Jesus..what kinda bug crawled up his ass?" Jaime asked, looking at Link, "I thought ya'll had a great time last night?"  
"I thought we did too. He was so kind and considerate last night. You think maybe he's coming down with something?"  
Keegan sighed, "I don't know, Link..but I'm worried, I've seen him sick before, this isn't like him." She ran a hand through her hair, "I guess all we can do is be there for him right now."  
"I've gotta go talk to him. I'll catch ya'll later." Link stood and rushed out of the cafeteria. As he left the cafeteria he noticed the door to the hydrotherapy room was open and Rhett was inside undressing. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him, his fingers fidgeting, "You gonna tell me what's wrong?"   
Rhett paused in his movements and slowly turned to face Link, "L-Leave."  
"No. I need to know what's going on. Rhett, you look like you're about to drop dead. Are you sick?"  
"Please Link, don't make me ask you again."  
Link frowned and walked over to Rhett, cupping his face in his hands, "I love you, Rhett. Please, talk to me." He pressed his lips to Rhett's. Rhett's lips remained still, the sweet heat they once held were now cold and stiff. Link pulled away, looking into Rhett's eyes, "Rhett?"  
Rhett's body slumped, tears rolling down his cheeks, "I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry." He whispered and removed Link's hands from his face, he grabbed his shirt from the side of one of the tubs and slipped it on over his head.  
Link's eyes filled with tears, "You..you don't want to be with me anymore?"  
Rhett slowly turned his head, tears flowing down his cheeks, "No." He turned away from the brunette and threw open the door, disappearing down the hallway.  
Link's body sunk to the floor, he sobbed, holding his knees to his chest as he rocked back and forth. "This is a dream. This is a dream." He whispered to himself over and over again.   
_No one loves you. You're pathetic. You're damaged goods. Who would want sloppy seconds?_  
Link winced at the presence of the voice in the back of his head, he sobbed harder and gripped at his hair, tugging at it and ripping out locks of his hair as he screamed. "GO AWAY! GO AWAY! YOU'RE NOT REAL!" His voice cracked as he screamed, his vocal cords strained and exhausted.  
Rhett pressed his back against the wall of his room, Link's screams echoed through the halls. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes, his hands quivering, "I'm so sorry Link.."

 

 

 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry these last two chapters were so short!
> 
> Warning: Contains homophobia.

.flashback.

_A bright light flashed into Rhett's room, he groaned as he was pulled from his slumber, he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, "Hm?"_  
_"Come on, McLaughlin, Petrov wants to see you."_  
_Rhett's blood ran cold, "For what?"_  
_"He didn't say." The orderly shrugged and escorted Rhett up the stairwell and onto the hall with Petrov's office._  
_Rhett's palms began sweating, he took a deep breath and nervously rubbed his palms onto his pants. He slowly stepped into the office, gulping when the door closed behind him, he felt like he was trapped on a sinking ship. He cleared his throat, "You wanted to see me, Dr.?"_  
_"Sit down, Mr. McLaughlin."_  
_Rhett sighed and sat down in front of Dr. Petrov's desk, "So..what's this about?"_  
_Dr. Petrov folded his hands on his desk, staring at Rhett with his cold dead eyes, "Mr. McLaughlin, this facility does not tolerate fraternization of any kind. I understand that you have your own perversions of which we are trying to correct, but the fact that you are acting on these sinful desires is simply not acceptable. I will not have your kind corrupting anyone in this hospital."_  
_Rhett looked away from him, his eyes burning with tears, "I'm not a pervert! I love Link.."_  
_"Mr. McLaughlin, this sickness you have is entirely treatable, if you take your medications like you are supposed to. One of the orderlies found your pills in the trash, I won't lie and say that I'm not disappointed. Look at me, Mr. McLaughlin."_  
_Rhett sniffled, hugging himself, he slowly turned his gaze to Dr. Petrov._  
_"We can cure you of this illness, but you have to be willing to accept treatment."_  
_"But..I love him.."_  
_"That is your illness speaking, Mr. McLaughlin. Think of the successful and happy life you will lead once this perversion is rectified. This illness has followed you your entire life and ruined you, because of this sickness your brain has been fighting itself, giving you these severe highs and lows of mania and depression. Don't make your mind fight anymore. When you have banished these thoughts and desires from your mind, you will be at peace."_  
_Rhett's body slumped against the chair, "I won't do it.." He whispered weakly._  
_Dr. Petrov sighed and sat back in his chair, taking off his glasses and cleaning them, "Then you give me no other option." He stood from his chair, "Thomas!"_  
_The orderly stepped into the room, "Yes, Sir?"_  
_"Hold Mr. McLaughlin down."_  
_Rhett's eyes widened, "What?! No!" He struggled against the iron grip of the orderly, his stomach twisting painfully in fear, "What are you going to do?!" He noticed something silver and sharp out of the corner of his eye as it gleamed in the light. "No..god no PLEASE! NO!" He begged for mercy, but he knew none would come._

~

Link awoke with a start, he felt something soft beneath his hands. He looked down and screamed, he was on his mattress. He crawled away and stared at his hands, hyperventilating in fear. Yesterday his mind had shattered, he was inconsolable, the orderlies had no choice but to subdue him and sedate him. They had dragged him to his room and tossed him onto the disease infested mattress to sleep the medication off.  
_All those millions of skin cells, they're all over your body. You laid on the blood and piss stains. The thousands of lice eggs are in your hair. You can feel them crawling around._  
Link frantically scratched at his scalp, feeling a couple small bald patches in the back from where he had pulled at his hair.  
_That bump right there? A spider laid it's eggs in your skin, they'll hatch soon._  
He whimpered and dug at the bump on his scalp, small drops of blood dripping down his fingers.  
_You rely on Rhett too much. He can't cure you. You're just fooling yourself. You'll never be rid of me. Only you can help yourself, and we both know you're too weak._  
"Mr. Neal! Vitals." Called one of the orderlies.  
Link was pulled from his thoughts and he hurried out of the room, rushing into the clinic.  
"Oh, there you are-" The nurse began, stopping when she saw Link run over to the sink and begin washing his hands.  
The nurse sighed and gathered his medications, "I guess we'll start with meds first, then."  
Link scrubbed at his hands, working the lather up his arms, using his nails to scrape at his skin in an attempt to get off the germs he had no doubt accumulated during the night. Once he was satisfied he had cleaned himself properly he washed the soap's lather from his arms and hands and dried himself off, quickly slipping on a fresh pair of rubber gloves.  
"Here you go, Mr. Neal." The nurse handed him his medicine and a cup of water.  
Link stared down at the pills in the little cup and sighed, quickly downing them and the water before he could think of a good reason not to.  
_You don't know what those pills are. They could be poison. They could be trying to kill you._  
"Shut up.." Link whispered, sighing. /If these pills can block you out, I'll happily take them../  
The nurse took his temperature and blood pressure, checked his weight and at the behest of Link, checked his scalp for lice. "Nope, you're lice free, Mr. Neal. Well, we're all done here. I'll see you later for night meds."  
Link left the room and stopped when he saw Rhett at the other end of the hall, haunced over like a zombie, shuffling through the crowds of patients. His heart ached and he fought back the tears stinging his eyes. He saw Jaime to his left and smiled, "Hey Jaime, have you seen Keegan?"  
"Yeah she's in hydro."  
"Thanks!" Link rushed to the hydrotherapy room, "Keegan? I need to ask-" He gasped and looked away when he saw Keegan's bare front in the shower. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"  
Keegan laughed and turned off the shower, pulling on her clothes with some difficulty as they clung to her wet skin. "It's okay. What do you need?"  
Link closed the door behind them and stepped over to her, keeping his voice hushed, "It's about Rhett."  
"Did you find out what happened to him?"  
"No, but I know it's got something to do with Petrov. I need to find out what he did to him. I need your help."  
"Ahh, you mean you need the help of my sticky fingers?" Keegan flashed a smile.  
"Yeah, I need a keycard to his office."  
"No problem, I'll have it by lunch."  
"Really? Damn you work fast." Link chuckled softly.

~

Link sat across from Jaime in the cafeteria, Rhett had skipped lunch, spending majority of the day in his room. He chewed his bottom lip anxiously, looking at the cafeteria doors every few seconds to see if Keegan had come back yet.  
"Chill, Link, she'll be here."   
"I just hope I can find out what happened to Rhett.."  
"Me too. I've never seen him like that before..even during his episodes he was never that cruel." Jaime sighed, playing with a lock of her pink hair. "Oh look, there's Keegan!" She whispered.  
Link turned excitedly, watching as Keegan sauntered over to the table. "Please tell me you got it." He whispered.  
Keegan sat down with a food tray and slid it over to Link, "Look under." She whispered back.  
Link looked about the room to make sure none of the orderlies were looking his way and lifted the tray a little, there sat a keycard. He quickly grabbed it and slipped it into his pocket, "Thank you Keegan. Now I've only got one more favor to ask."  
"Need a helper?"  
"Yeah..I don't know what I'll be looking for and it'll be a lot easier with two pairs of eyes."  
"Of course. Meet me by your room an hour before night meds, Dr. Petrov usually leaves before dinner and doesn't come back until early morning."  
Link grinned, "Perfect!"  
/I'm coming Rhett, I'm coming to save you./

 

 

 

 


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this one took so long. <3

Link walked down the hall calmly, but his heart ran faster than the speed of light, the last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself. Keegan stood beside his room, her eyes meeting his, her own filled with worry.   
"Are you ready?" He asked her in a hushed voice.  
Keegan nodded, walking with him to Petrov's office, she looked down the hall, watching as the orderlies made their way onto the lower levels, doing their hourly checks. "We only have a short amount of time before they come back during night meds."  
Link slid the keycard into the slot, his stomach twisting nervously until he saw the little light flash green. He turned the knob and quickly walked in, Keegan close behind him. He shut the door behind them and took a deep breath, turning on the small desk lamp. "Okay, so first we need to find Rhett's file, we can see just what Petrov has been doing to him."  
Keegan nodded and wandered over to the large filing cabinets, pulling out the top shelf and thumbing through the files, muttering to herself: 'McLaughlin, McLaughlin, McLaughlin..'.  
Link sat at Petrov's desk, looking over the many papers strewn about. Mail. Junk mail. Insurance claims. Someone else's files. More mail. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair in aggrivation. He reached down to the drawer to the left, tugging it open and finding it full of files marked in red. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and pulled one out, noting that the red mark on the labels of the files were for patients deemed a 'lost cause'. Link took a shaky breath and ran his fingers along the files, stopping when he saw 'McLaughlin, R.'.   
With trembling hands, Link laid the file on the desk, "I found it Kee." He whispered nervously, opening it. Keegan stood back, not wanting to be nosey, but she could tell by the look on Link's face what lay in the file was not good.  
Link skimmed through the file and stopped when certain words caught his eye, he swallowed the lump rising in his throat as he read,  
"Mr. McLaughlin doesn't seem to be responding to aversion therapy or medications. Mood disorder has only gotten worse since Mr. Neal has arrived. To help facilitate Mr. McLaughlin's rehabilitation I am starting him on hormonal therapy to stop libido, homosexual fantasies and tendacies. Will report on any side effects of MPA shown in the patient."   
Tears filled Link's eyes, his hands trembling, "Oh god no.." He whispered, his voice painfully cracking. They had stripped him of who he was, pushed the love he held for Link into a deep dark place and shunned it, and because of that Rhett was now only a mere shadow of the man he used to be.   
Link felt Keegan's presence at his side and he shied away from her outreached hand.  
"Link? What is it?" She asked softly.  
"They're castrating him.."  
Keegan's hand flew to her mouth as she let out a gasp.   
"We have to do something about this." Link placed the file back in it's original place and shut the drawer, rising from the seat with clenched fists. He scanned the room, stopping when he saw a small fridge wedged between two filing cabinets. He knelt down to it and threw it open, finding four bottles marked Medroxyprogesterone Acetate.   
"Keegan, I need you to swipe me a bag of saline from the clinic." Link looked to her with pleading eyes.  
"That nurse only leaves the clinic at the end of the day, but I'll get Jamie to help. Just hold on okay? I'll knock five times when I'm back." Keegan cracked open the door and searched the halls before leaving the office.  
Keegan hurriedly made her way to Jamie's room, "Jamie, I need your help, you have to create a distraction, a big one."   
Jamie grimaced, "But Kee..I just got out of isolation.."  
"I know, but I have to sneak into the clinic for some saline. Petrov's been using chemical castration on Rhett, Link's gonna switch it. I need something that will get the nurse to come out."  
Jamie nodded slowly, "Ok, but ya'll owe me.." She whispered and gave Keegan's hand a squeeze, a very rare moment of affection from the shorter girl. She stepped out of her room and waited as Keegan walked back down the hall near the clinic, waiting for her signal.  
Keegan readied herself, giving a small nod to Jamie.  
Jamie let out an ear piercing scream, clawing at her skin and banging her back against the concrete wall. Orderlies rushed to her aid, telling her to calm down. She screeched in their faces and tackled one, tugging at his hair and shouting gibberish.   
The nurse bolted out of the clinic when she heard an orderly call for her and reached into her pocket, preparing a needle. Now was her chance.  
Keegan rushed into the clinic and tore open the fridge, scanning the contents until her eyes landed on a fat bag of saline. She stuffed it inside her shirt and grabbed a sterile needle from the small container near the sink and left the clinic, hurrying to Petrov's office. She tapped her knuckles against the door five times, bouncing on her feet anxiously waiting for Link to open the door.  
Link threw the door open and quickly closed it behind her. Keegan handed him the saline and he got to work. Link grabbed the package and ripped it open, stabbing the needle into one of the vials of MPA, drawing the plunger back as far as it would go.   
Grabbing a discarded coffee cup from Petrov's trash can, she held it out for Link to deposit the clear liquid in, working quickly they emptied out all of the vials with only ten minutes to go.  
Link began to sweat, his hands shaking violently as he pushed the needle into the saline bag's rubber button and drew back the fluid, he pushed the panicked thoughts from his mind and began to refill the vials, Keegan placing them back in their exact position in the fridge. Five minutes left. Link finished the last one and placed the needle back in it's wrapper and grabbed the half deflated saline bag.   
"Alright, let's go." Link listened at the door and opened it when the coast was clear, he rushed over to the trash can and threw in the needle and saline bag, Keegan following to toss in the cup filled with the vile liquid.   
Link pressed the keycard into Keegan's hand with a smile, his cheeks still tear stained, he mouthed a thank you and watched as she made her way down to her floor, his heart still running a million miles a second.   
"Night meds!" Called the nurse.  
He sighed and trudged over to the clinic, standing in line waiting for his little white cup of medications, normally he didn't care for taking the medicines they had perscribed him, but in this case he would make an exception, now more than ever he needed a good night's sleep.  
The nurse handed him a cup of water and his medications, Link gulped them both down and did the obligatory mouth search before sauntering over to his room. He stepped inside and the orderly locked it behind him, his stomach dropping, each night he felt like a prisoner.  
Link sat down at the center of the floor and pulled out the piece of paper and pencil from under his waist band, the paper was nearly filled up with their back and forth scribbling. He strained to see in the light of the moon from the window and pressed the paper flat to the floor, writing,   
'I promise everything is going to be ok.'  
He wrapped the pencil in the paper and slipped it down into the crack in the floor. He pressed his ear near the opening to listen for Rhett, he heard the paper rustling and the unmistakable sound of Rhett crying.   
Link's heart broke, he waited for the note to be returned for what seemed like hours, before finally giving up on receiving anything that night. With a sigh he crawled over to his usual spot in the corner and pressed his cheek to the cool stone, waiting for his medications to take hold and soothe him to sleep.   
_/I won't let anyone hurt you. I can be your savior this time./_


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the beautiful words, kudos and views, ya'll give me the inspiration to continue, which means more than you could ever know. <3 
> 
> P.S. One of these days I'm gonna draw a map of the asylum, just to give ya'll a visual aid of what this place looks like. <3

Link sat next to Keegan at their table in the cafeteria, bouncing his leg nervously. It had been two days since he had sabotaged the vials in Dr. Petrov's office and he hadn't seen Rhett since. His stomach twisted violently, his fingers scratching at his forearm, digging into the skin underneath while his mind wandered in worry.  
Keegan's eyebrows furrowed, "Link?"  
He was jerked from his thoughts, his fingers pausing in their movements. "Mm?"  
She sighed and turned to face him, "He'll be okay, Link, he'll be here."  
Link nodded and looked away once more, seemingly lost. He had figured that it would take a little while for Rhett to come back to his old self, the dosage he had been given was far too high and he knew coming down from it would be difficult, like years of puberty smashed into a couple days.  
Link heard a soft scuffling sound from behind him, he knew those footsteps anywhere. He felt warmth behind him and the soft sound of breathing, accompanied by the gentle musky scent of Rhett.  
He bit his lip nervously and turned to face him, he looked up at the tall man slowly, studying him. He was no longer caked in sweat, his hands not once trembling, and most importantly the light that ever shined in his eyes was back. "Rhett.." He whispered, his voice cracking as tears threatened to fall.  
Rhett looked down at Link, tears filling his eyes, he managed to smile before turning away, nodding his head toward the cafeteria doors, signaling for Link to follow him.  
Link lifted himself from his seat and slowly followed him, tugging nervously at his sweater sleeves. They stepped into the hydrotherapy room and Link closed the door behind them for more privacy, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears.   
Rhett took a deep breath, his broad shoulders lifting as he inhaled. He slowly turned to Link, taking slow steps to close the space between them. He took Link's hand in his, pushing up Link's sleeve to reveal his scars and the small patch of skin he had picked raw earlier. Rhett lifted Link's forearm, pressing his lips to his soft skin, kissing each and every one of his scars, his thumb rubbing the back of Link's hand in soft circular motions.  
Link's body bristled in panic, he had always hid his scars, making sure to cover them with his sleeves or make sure the scars were obstructed from view. "How did you know?" He whispered, his body slowly relaxing as he got used to the feeling of Rhett's gentle lips against his skin.  
Rhett's eyes softened and he brushed his thumb against Link's cheek, "Oh Link.." He said, barely above a whisper, pressing his forehead to Link's, his chest aching as tears filled his eyes. "Thank you for what you did. Keegan let me know." He pulled away, wiping at his eyes, "Someone told Dr. Petrov about us and he..he.." He trailed off, his voice cracking. "It destroyed me, Link. It made me so sick..and..all thoughts of you were just gone. They erased what I feel for you. It kills me that I hurt you. I'm so sorry."  
Link's heart skipped a beat and he fought back the tears, he cupped Rhett's face and gently pressed his lips to his, his fingers working their way up to his hair, entangling themselves in the mass of blond hair. Their lips moved feverishly, their tongues entertwining the other, moans leaving their lips as their bodies pressed together.   
"I love you Link, always have." Rhett whispered.  
Link pressed his head to Rhett's chest, sniffling and wiping at his eyes, "I love you too, Rhett." He wrapped his arms around the taller man, "We have to get out of here, this place will be the death of who we are, we can't let them kill the best parts of us."  
Rhett cleared his throat to push back the lump rising in his throat and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "But how, bo? They'll never let us go.."  
"We'll find a way, there must be one." Link whispered, quickly pulling away from Rhett when he heard someone walk past the room. He cleared his throat and fixed his sweater, "For right now we can't be seen alone together like this, Petrov will know that somethings up. When you go for your therapy sessions you have to lie to him, tell him what he wants to hear. Can you do that?"  
Rhett sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, but it'll kill me to say it.."  
"It's okay, because we both know it isn't true." Link smiled softly, "Now come on, let's get back to the cafeteria."   
Link left the room first, Rhett following soon after.   
Link grabbed two apples from the line with his gloved hands and began polishing them with a napkin as he walked back over to the table. He sat down beside Keegan, Rhett joining them with a plate full of food. "God Rhett..how can you eat that stuff?" He asked, his nose scrunching in disgust.  
"I get it from my mama, we eat everything." Rhett laughed, shoving a forkful of some mystery meat into his mouth. His eyes widened and he gagged violently, spitting it into his napkin, "Everything except that. Liver." He shivered, gagging once more.  
The three broke into a fit of laughter over Rhett's reaction, "I get like that with sushi, it's okay." Link giggled, his eyes bright and full of life whenever he looked at Rhett.  
"So how's Jamie, Kee? Heard anything?" Rhett asked, spooning some garden peas into his mouth, his foot softly nudging Link's under the table.  
"Isolation, again, she'll be out in a few days."  
"Damn..I'm sorry ya'll had to go through so much trouble for me." Rhett sighed.  
"It's okay, we're family here." Keegan smiled, "Besides, it's much more entertaining to help ya'll with your antics than it is playing checkers in the tv room with the catatonics."  
Link wrinkled his nose, "I hate that room. Last time I was there I nearly puked cause someone peed on the couch."  
Keegan and Rhett snickered at Link, he had always had a weak stomach, now it had almost become a pasttime of theirs: 'What will make Link gag next?'  
"I hate ya'll." Link grumbled, taking a bite of his apple.  
 _Worms. Beetles. Flies. Maggots. They're living in your apple. You can feel them wiggling down your throat._  
"Shut _up_!" Link whispered in exasperation, shaking his head to try and clear the thoughts.   
"I thought your new meds were helping with..that." Keegan said.  
"They help a little, but sometimes it's a little difficult getting him to shut up." Link sighed.  
"Him?" Rhett asked, dropping his fork.  
Link nodded, "It's a voice in my head I hear, reminding me of all the tainted things, the bacteria that are crawling around everywhere.."  
"Who's voice do you hear?" Rhett chewed his lip nervously.  
"I don't know. I recognize it but I just can't place it." Link shrugged, "But anyways, enough about my screwy head. Keegan, guess what?"  
Keegan froze, "Oh god what'd I do?"  
Link chuckled, "Nothing." He leaned in close and whispered, "Rhett and I are gonna break out."  
Keegan's eyes widened, "Break out? No one's ever broken out of Wullhearst before! The only person who ever got close was Jamie, the orderlies..they had no mercy when they caught her." She sighed.  
"How far did she get?"  
"The front doors. She was nearly home free."  
"What did they do to her..?"   
"You don't wanna know. She wore bruises for a month, even had to get surgery. You've gotta realize, Link..this place is no better than a prison. They don't care what happens to us in here, they can do whatever they want with us and there's nothing we can do."  
Link shook his head, "They're the fucking insane ones. We're not their toys." He sighed, "We have to get out of here."  
Keegan chewed her lip, "Can I come with you?"  
Link smiled, "Wouldn't have it any other way."  
"Well first off you need to talk to Jamie. She's the only one who knows the ins and outs of this place, we'll need her help if we wanna get out."  
Link nodded, "When she gets out of isolation, we'll start preperation." He turned his attention to Rhett, "I'll get us outta here, bo. I'll never let them hurt you again."

 

 

 

 

 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short! I'll make up for it in the next chapter, I promise. <3

Link stood with the others outside the isolation rooms, his back pressed to the cold concrete, biting the skin around his nails nervously. Today Jamie was getting out of isolation.

One of the orderlies stepped into isolation room 4, grabbing the short girl by her shoulder and leading her out of the room, her straight jacket still on. The man stepped behind her, undoing the restraints in the back and helping her out of the constrictive canvas material. He closed and locked the isolation room, giving a warning glance at Jamie before he left down the hall.

Jamie sighed and stretched her arms above her head, "Glad to be outta there." She said and crossed her arms, "Ya'll get what you needed?" 

Link nodded, "Yeah, we did. Lucky there aren't any cameras here, you'd think there would be." He glanced up at the empty ceiling.

"Yeah right, then they couldn't have their fun with us." Jamie rolled her eyes, her expression obviously pained.

Rhett stepped over to her, reaching out his hand slowly, when Jamie didn't shy away, he pulled her into a gentle hug, "We're getting out of here, you're coming with us." He whispered into her pink hair.

Jamie's body tensed, "Rhett.." She lifted her head, tears filling her eyes, "If they catch us.." Her voice broke and her hand unconsciously rested on the area just below her navel, a small piece of her ripped out, never to be put back again. 

"I'd die before they hurt any of you. We can't stay here, Jame. They'll destroy us all one by one if we don't." He slowly released her from his embrace and wiped at her tears, "We have to try, and we need your help."

Jamie's eyes rested on the floor, she rubbed her arms and sighed softly, "Ok." They would torture them regardless, so why not try? "Meet in the rec room during lunch." 

Link's eyes softened, "Thank you, Jamie." He smiled, the only good thing to ever come out of this place was the three people standing by him, these people were his friends, his family, without them he'd be lost forever within these walls, eventually forgotten about. 

 

~

 

"So what do you have, Jamie?" Link asked, sitting down at the small table in the rec room, twiddling his thumbs. "How are we gonna get past the orderlies?"

"Easy. Well. Sort of. At 6am the orderlies on third shift clock out, and the new ones come up, but before they do they get dressed in the locker rooms on the first floor. Floor two and three will be empty for less than half an hour, so we have to work fast. On the first floor there are two security guards, one stays by the main office, and the other by the patients set of stairs, so we'll have to take the employee stairs at the other end so they don't see us. First we need to get out of our rooms, which is simple enough, and I'll set fire to something so that by the time we get down to the first floor the fire alarm will go off, we then have only a few seconds to jam the door to the lockers so none of the orderlies can get out. The security guards will follow the trail of smoke up the patient stairs right next to them and put out the fire, and that's our chance to get down the hall and through the front doors, so we need a master keycard." Jamie said as she paced. "As for getting out of our rooms, use this to stuff the hole before night meds, the lock won't completely latch so we can get out super easy. As for the keycard, we'll get it from the nurse on my floor, she's the only one that stays half an hour late." Jamie rifled through one of the art boxes and tossed Link a hunk of molding clay. 

"That's genius." Link grinned.

"The plan will start tonight. At 6am when the orderlies are leaving, we'll open our doors, Link and I will come down to ya'lls floor and we can begin. Got it everybody?" Jamie stopped pacing.

Keegan, Rhett, and Link all nodded excitedly, grinning.

"Okay, let's get back before lunch is over and they do head count." 

Link handed out pieces of clay wrapped in plastic to everyone and tucked his in his shoe, he looked over at Rhett and took his hand, gently massaging the top of his hand with his thumb, "I told you I would get you out of here." He whispered lovingly.

Rhett smiled and stroked Link's cheek tenderly, "I just hope this works." 

 

~

 

Link jammed the clay into the latch as he was instructed and sat in the corner of his room, two minutes until the door would shut. Please work. Please work. An orderly stepped over to Link's room, checked him off on his clipboard before shutting and locking the door. Link's heart hammered painfully against his chest, it would be hours before he could test the door to see if the clay had worked without anyone noticing. Nothing left but to sit here and wait. And wait. And wait.

He ran over everything single detail in his head, over and over again, the place was very simple, but so many things could go wrong. What if one of the orderlies took an extra shift and never left? How would they get the keycard from the nurse? What if the barricade to the locker room gave way and they were caught? What would they do to them? What did they do to Jamie?

Link's stomach twisted violently and he heaved, his hands quivering with worry, he didn't want to die here, and he knew he certainly would if he didn't get out.

A soft rustling pulled Link from his thoughts, he grinned and retrieved the note being pushed up through the crack in his floor.

'It's okay baby, we'll get out of here. We'll be free.'

Link pressed the pencil to the paper,

'In case something happens, I just want to let you know I love you, you mean more to me than anything in this world.'

He slipped the note into the crack and heard it clatter to the ground.

Rhett opened the note and sighed, staring lovingly at the paper. 

'I love you too bo, always have.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are my loves, the end. What a twist!(I hope no one saw this coming. xD) Ugh. Anyways, I hope you all have enjoyed this fic! There will be many more to come. Thank you for all the love and support, I adore you all. <3 xx

Link watched the light from the sun move across his floor, the sounds of birds chirping just outside his window, it was nearly time. He stood up and looked out the glass window of his door, squinting his eyes to read the clock in the hall, 5:43am. He took a deep breath, his hands trembling, so many things could go wrong, and what would they do when they got out? Surely they would send the police after them, dragging them back to this hellhole. He ran his fingers through his hair and took another deep breath, trying desperately to calm himself, but to no avail, the only thing that could calm his heart was to be on the other side of those doors with Rhett's hand in his. He smiled to himself. Rhett. His savior. 

He watched the clock, never tearing his attention from the minute hand slowly making it's way around the face. 6am. He watched as the orderlies left the hall and waited one minute more before turning the knob and pushing against the door, his heart racing when it gave. It worked! He stepped into the hallway and nodded at Jamie down the hall as she left her room, she motioned for Link to stay still and she made her way down the hall to the clinic. She pointed at the clinic and counted down with her fingers. 3. 2. 1. They charged into the small room, bum rushing the nurse; Link covered her mouth before she could scream and Jamie made quick work of grabbing the keycard pinned to her blouse, "Hold her still, I'll find something to tie her up with." Jamie said and searched through the cabinets, grinning when she found IV tubes, she grabbed two and helped Link hold her down on her chair, tying her wrists to the arm rests. "Stuff this in her mouth." Jamie reached into the container filled with gauze and handed it to Link before reaching her hand into the nurse's pocket, withdrawing a lighter. "I knew this would come in handy." She grinned. The nurse kicked and screamed, her screams dying behind the large wad of gauze shoved into her mouth, her legs flailing and her eyes tearing up, begging them not to hurt her. 

"One more thing." Link left the clinic and grabbed the fire extinguisher against the wall and rammed it through the window of Petrov's office, his heart beating like a war drum in his ears. He ran over to Petrov's desk and opened the file drawer where he knew Rhett's file was, he thumbed through the files until he found McLaughlin, R. He smiled triumphantly, but paused when he saw Neal, C right behind Rhett's file. He grabbed his file and felt his stomach drop, he was deemed a 'lost hope' too. Link took a deep breath to steady his nerves and frantically searched for Keegan and Jamie's files; Jamie's was near the front of the drawer with Keegan's not far behind, the girls were right, they were all doomed if they remained here. He held the files tightly to him and ran out of the office, meeting Jamie back in the clinic, "I had to get these. Now they won't have any record of us being here."

Jamie grabbed the nurse's jacket and as many of the documents from the nurse's filing cabinet as she could hold, running with Link down the stairs to the second floor where Keegan and Rhett stood, pacing around nervously. When Rhett saw Link his heart raced, he ran over to the short brunette and pulled him close. "No time, Rhett, we have to get goin! Jamie, start on the fire!"

Jamie took the lighter from the jacket and dropped the jacket to the floor with all the documents she grabbed and flicked the lighter, pressing it's flame to an edge of paper, it took only a few seconds for it to engulf in flames. "Let's go!"

The four ran down the employee stairs, Rhett frantically searched the hall for something to use as a barricade until his eyes landed on a metal chair, it would work perfectly, it's legs would slip in between the wood of the door and the metal bar door knobs. He grabbed it and just as the fire alarm went off, jammed it into place in the doors of the locker room. The security guards rushed up the patient stairs, yelling as they fought the fire above on floor three, the orderlies pounded against the doors, screaming for help in a panic. Now was their time. 

They ran down the hall past the empty clinic and the staff cafeteria, heading to the front doors. Jamie swiped the keycard, the little LED flashing green, the doors were unlocked! They pushed the doors open and ran down the sidewalk, the fire alarms still blaring. Link ran beside Rhett as fast as he could, though his legs screamed in pain, he couldn't stop now, they had to keep going. His lungs burned as they made their way across a clearing to the woods, he kept his eyes ahead of him, the sound of Rhett panting beside him grounding him, they were nearly free. He heard a loud clamoring of voices behind them, he turned his head and watched as the guards, the nurse, and the orderlies ushered the patients out of the building before the immense heat within the building blew out the windows. The four stopped and turned, watching as the building became utterly engulfed in flames, the support beams of the building groaning under the strain. 

"Hey, enough looky loos, let's get going!" Keegan fussed.

Link, Rhett, and Jamie were brought back to reality and the four friends continued on through the woods, the trees were so densely packed you could barely see four feet in front of you, and with the guards having to help make sure the patients didn't go anywhere, they couldn't come after them. They ran for what seemed like hours until they reached the end of the woods, the sound of loud sirens pierced the air behind them. "We can't keep running like this, we have to get to someplace safe.." Link gasped for air, his throat burning.

"I have someplace we can go." Rhett held Link's hand and pressed his lips to Link's knuckles, "It isn't much, but it's safe, it's way out in the middle of nowhere, they won't think to come there." 

The group avoided the roads, sticking close to the streams and woods with Rhett leading them for four miles until they came to a patchy red barn that was falling apart. Rhett opened the door and stepped inside, it had been one of his favorite places when he was a kid, it still looked the same all those years later. Keegan and Jamie looked at the back of the barn, a large panel of wood missing, allowing them to spot a wide stream not far from where they were, they hurried through the barn and down the hill, practically diving into the cool stream, their muscles thanking them for the respite. Link climbed up to the loft and gazed out of the window, the fire had broken the building down but the firemen had extinguished the fire, Wullhurst Asylum was no more. 

"Hey you." Rhett climbed up the ladder and walked over to Link, standing beside him, the heat from his body radiating against Link's back. "What're those?" He asked, pointing to the files Link held in his left hand.

"Our files." Link turned, he offered Rhett's file to him before sitting down on a nearby hay bail.

Rhett sat down beside Link and opened his file, his stomach twisted as he read the disgusting words Petrov used to describe Rhett's 'condition'. Rhett read through his file, pausing when he saw a note at the bottom, written in bright red pen: 'Rhett is a perfect candidate for the North Wing. If hormonal therapy does not work by next week, will schedule operation to correct perversion'. Rhett scoffed and threw the file, his eyes filling with tears.

 

Link slowly reached out his hand to Rhett, taking his hand gently. "You ok?"

"They were gonna operate on me, Link.."

Link's eyes widened and his stomach twisted violently, he cuddled up close to Rhett, "We're safe, Rhett, they can't get to us. All they did to us, all they were ever going to do, all record of us is here in our hands, they have no proof we were ever there. We win."

Rhett turned his head to face Link and smiled, pressing his lips to Link's forehead, "I never thought we'd get outta there. You sure are somethin', Charles Lincoln Neal."

Link froze, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he sat back a little, slowly removing his hand from Rhett's, "How do you know my name?" He whispered, "I only told you my name was Link."

Rhett faltered, "You told me."

Link stood up quickly, hyperventilating. Those green eyes. He _knew_ those eyes. "It was you. It was _you_!" He screamed.

Rhett stood up, holding out his hands defensively, "What are you talking about?"

"You're the one who hurt me! That's how you knew so much about me! My name, my favorite foods, m-my SCARS! You never saw them, and yet you knew exactly where to look!" Link backed away from him, wincing when his back hit the wall.

"Link, I-"

"No! Get away from me!" 

Rhett grabbed Link's wrists, pulling the shorter man to him, keeping his wrists restrained, Link panicked in his grasp, tears filling his eyes. "I was hoping you'd remember before now.." Rhett whispered, tears filling his eyes, "How could it take you so long to remember?"

"So it _was_ you.."

"No." Rhett gently released Link's wrists with a sigh and sat back on the hay bail, his head hanging low, "It was my brother."

"What..?" 

"His eyes are green like mine, he's the one who hurt you, but I swear I didn't know..I didn't know until it was too late." Rhett looked away, sniffling, "He always looked at you strangely, but I never questioned it, and then..on your birthday, I knew something was wrong, but you wouldn't tell me."

"What are you talking about? I didn't know you!"

Rhett looked up at Link, "We met in first grade, Link. We were best friends. I was hoping when I told you about my 'friend' you'd connect the dots and remember.."

"You said your friend died."

"No, I said I lost him. I lost you Link. After your birthday, you stopped calling me, you wouldn't even look my way when we'd pass each other in the hallways at school. I tried talking to you but..you said you didn't know who I was. I thought you were messing with me until Sue called my mom, she told her that you suffered a mental breakdown and didn't know who I was anymore."

"How do you know my mom's name..?"

"Come on, bo..you have to remember me. Please. I'm begging you." Rhett took Link's hand, gently caressing it, "I loved you from the moment I met you, you were so shy and sweet, it melted my heart. We spent damn near every day together, I mean come on, don't you remember this barn? When we did that stupid photoshoot..?" Rhett sighed, "I..I just wish I could have stopped him, I wish I could have protected you from Cole."

 

Link's blood went cold and he gasped, his mind falling backward in time, to the evening of his birthday after his party guests had all left, apart from two.

 

_"Did you enjoy your gift, birthday boy? I bet you were thinking about it all day." Cole sneered, his hands sliding along Link's arms._

_"Please, Cole..just leave me alone." Link whispered, begging the older boy with tear filled eyes._

_Cole shoved him against the wall, pressing their bodies together, his green eyes peering into Link's. "You're mine, Lincoln. I'm your first, no one will ever be able to take that from us." He backed away from Link, putting plenty of space between them when he heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway from the kitchen. "This isn't over." He whispered, licking his lips._

 

Link collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, "I remember.." He barely choked out, burying his face in his hands as he sobbed. Rhett hurried over to Link and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. "I remember everything.." He clung to Rhett's shirt, his tears dampening the fabric. He raised his head, his blue eyes searching Rhett's, "I'm so sorry bo, I'm so sorry!"

Rhett fought back his own tears, pressing his lips to Link's gently, "I love you so much, Link." He choked, holding Link close to him as he let the dams break, his hot tears rolling down his cheeks. "I love you. I love you. I love you." He whispered to the brunette repeatedly, holding him in his arms through his violent trembling sobs. "I want to be with you forever.." He whispered, gently rubbing Link's back to soothe him.

"But Rhett..I may never be okay again. Why would you want to spend the rest of your life with someone so..damaged?" Link sniffled, avoiding Rhett's eyes.

"You aren't damaged, Link, you're hurt, and I'll be here by your side every day to help you heal that hurt if that's what you want. We can take things as slow as you need them to be, if you need space I will give you space, if you need to lean on me, I will hold you up to keep you from falling." 

Link lifted his eyes to Rhett's slowly and smiled, pressing his forehead to his, with Rhett's love and support, he knew that he could finally find the strength to heal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
